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| Sunday, August 17 Dominican Republic shines despite problems Associated Press |
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- The Dominican Republic's big show wasn't as disastrous as it was billed to be. The Pan American Games shined through disorganization, last-minute scrambling to complete athletic venues, concession stands and walkways, and even downpours and power outages. People adjusted, they laughed, they dealt with what came their way. And oh what a lift this has been for a country that can really use one. "We needed it. The youth needed it to see that there are other challenges in sports than baseball," said Jesus Alou, a former Dominican major-leaguer now working as director of Dominican operations for the Boston Red Sox. "Baseball has been everything, and now there are other horizons. At least that's my hope. You walk around the Pan Am Games and there are so many bodies with tools, and they're being wasted. Now we have the facilities to develop talent and benefit. We'll see." Everyone had to be flexible. American Jamie Subandhi, a 13-year-old badminton player and the youngest member of the U.S. delegation, relied on e-mail to communicate with her parents in California because the calling card she received didn't work. The United States won gold in women's saber and men's foil fencing, but at the medals ceremony, there was a hitch: The CD player couldn't play the U.S. national anthem. No problem. U.S. fencing captain Jeff Bukantz called the American athletes, support staff, parents and fans from the stands to the floor to sing while the flags were raised for Sada Jacobson and Dan Kellner. "It had me on pins and needles for 3½ years, but this has been one of the nicest two weeks I've spent," said U.S. delegation head Roland Betts, who made 10 trips here before the games to assist with planning. "What the Dominicans have done the last two weeks has been extremely extraordinary. Other than a few minor glitches early on, they have really pulled this off." It started with a spectacular opening ceremony, highlighted by a unique performance from youngster Luis Pujols. The boy, dressed in a Dominican baseball uniform, stepped up to the plate and called his shot, swinging a bat at a baseball sitting atop a mini-flame in the field at Olympic Stadium. That triggered a wire extending across the stadium to the games cauldron, which ignited to resounding cheers. Moments earlier, Juan Marichal, the only Dominican in the Baseball Hall of Fame, lit the smaller cauldron. Boston pitcher Pedro Martinez had handed the torch to Marichal. The trio represented the past, present and future of Dominican athletics.
There were certainly unique elements to these games:
Although crowds were sparse at most venues when the Dominicans weren't competing, the hometown athletes got their due. Thousands packed Quisqueya Stadium to watch the home team play the United States in baseball. They pushed down fences to see local track hero Felix Sanchez win the 400 hurdles, then rushed next door to the basketball arena to watch as Brazil beat the Dominicans 89-62 for the men's gold. On the final night of competition, police used a chemical substance to disperse thousands of fans waiting outside the already-packed volleyball arena before the gold-medal game between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The Dominicans won a thriller in five sets. Security for the most part was efficient. After a Miami Herald reporter was mugged outside the main media center, the police presence was increased along the dark street leading from the center to competition venues in the Olympic Center. For the baseball final between the Americans and Cuba, Dominican officials doubled security to diminish the potential for defections. Cuba won 3-1 for its ninth straight Pan Ams gold. One soldier said any Cuban who got away would mean jail time for the Dominican patrol. Three athletes lost their medals because of positive doping tests. Argentine rower Ulf Lienhard tested positive for cocaine and was stripped of two medals. "Anything other than cocaine would be more pardonable," said Pan American Sports Organization president Mario Vazquez Rana. U.S. sprinter Mickey Grimes, the 100-meter gold medalist, tested positive for ephedrine and lost that medal. The Americans also lost gold in the 400-meter relay, for which Grimes ran the opening leg. Letitia Vriesde of Surinam, who won the women's 800 run, was caught with excessive levels of caffeine in her system. She also was stripped of her medal, the only one her country won here. The Americans won the most medals but went home disappointed in some team competitions. College players finished second in baseball and women's basketball, and the men's basketball team didn't medal at all -- for the first time since 1971. Overall, the Dominicans had something to be proud of. "This is not the biggest thing this country has ever done in sports," Betts said. "This is the biggest thing this country has ever done." |
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