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Thursday, September 21
Track stars start quest in heats
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Michael Johnson wore gold shoes.
Maurice Greene wore a smile. Marion Jones chickened out on her
chance to wear something really different.
All three strolled to victories in first-round heats as track and
field events began Friday at the Sydney
Olympics.
|  | | Canada's Donovan Bailey has been battling the flu leading up to his first-round heat. |
The first track medal of the games was mired in controversy.
Mexico's Bernardo Segura crossed the finish line first in the
20-kilometer walk, but later was disqualified for three instances
of breaking contact with the ground.
That gave the gold medal to Poland's Robert Korzeniowski, with
Noe Hernandez of Mexico second and Vladimir Andreyev of Russia
third.
Jones began her quest for five gold medals with a leisurely victory
in 11.20 seconds in her heat of the women's 100. She wore
custom-made black shoes covered with shiny chrome, instead of the
radical pair designed for her for the games.
The shoes she decided not to wear are made of thermoplastic
urethane and are clear. And they have no heels. They are touted as
the lightest spiked track shoes ever made at 3.5 ounces.
"I feel great, I feel great. You know, it's been a long time. I
was just waiting and watching. But it's here now, so no more
excuses," Jones said. She said the biggest problem she faced in
the first round was almost getting knocked over by a gust of wind
as she stepped into the starting blocks.
"I'm having a ball. I'm 24 years old, I'm in Sydney, I'm
running great," she said.
Joining Jones in the second round were U.S. teammates Chryste
Gaines and Torri Edwards, a late replacement for the injured Inger
Miller -- who withdrew from the race because of a severely sprained
left hamstring. Gaines' time of 11.06 seconds was the best of the
first round.
Also advancing was Merlene Ottey, a seven-time Olympic medalist
who substituted at the last minute for a Jamaican teammate. Some
Jamaican team members protested when Ottey, who is returning from a
one-year drug ban, replaced Peta-Gaye Dowdie in the 100.
Greene, who sobbed while watching the 1996 Olympics from the
stands, began his quest for a men's 100-meter gold at the Sydney
Games with a celebratory smile.
He breezed to an easy victory in 10.31 seconds in his
first-round heat, then strutted and waved to the crowd. He slowed
significantly toward the end of his heat.
"I'm just happy to get the show started and eager to keep it
going," he said. "You just want to get through the first round as
easy as possible."
Greene, who holds the world record of 9.79 seconds, failed to
qualify for the 1996 Olympics and drove 18 hours from his home in
Kansas City to Atlanta to see the games. During the 100 final, he
sat in the stands and cried uncontrollably.
Also advancing to the second round were Americans Curtis Johnson
and Jon Drummond. Ato Boldon, the 1996 bronze medalist from
Trinidad & Tobago, won his heat in 10.04 seconds.
Defending champion Donovan Bailey of Canada, who set a world
record of 9.84 seconds while winning in Atlanta but has been
tormented by injuries the past two years, also advanced by
finishing third in his heat in 10.39 seconds. Bailey has been
battling the flu the past few days.
After the race, Bailey sat by himself on a bench for about 15
minutes -- his head in his hands.
Johnson, glancing to his left several times down the closing
stretch to see if anyone was close behind, strolled to an easy
victory in his first-round heat of the men's 400.
Johnson finished in 45.25 seconds and advanced to the second round Saturday. Joining him in the next round were U.S. teammates
Alvin Harrison and Antonio Pettigrew, who also won their heats.
Harrison, wearing a full body suit and long sleeves on a hot,
sunny day, had the fastest qualifying time of 44.96.
Johnson, master of the men's 400 for more than a decade, is an
overwhelming favorite to become the first man to win the event in
consecutive Olympics. He has won four consecutive world championships,
setting the world record of 43.18 seconds while winning that title
last year.
"It felt pretty easy today, so I think I got the mission
accomplished," Johnson said. "It's really great to get it
started. It was a fun week hanging out down here, but now it's
business and I'm ready to get it going."
The Clark clan had a good day in the women's 800 meters, and all
three American shot putters advanced to the final.
Joetta Clark-Diggs, her kid sister, Hazel Clark, and their
sister-in-law, Jearl Miles-Clark, all easily advanced to the
semifinals of the women's 800.
"Making it was first on our minds. We did that," said
Miles-Clark, the first family member to run. "One step at a time.
It was nerve-racking to watch, waiting to see if they made it
through to the next round."
Maria Mutola of Mozambique, who won the bronze medal in 1996,
also moved into the semis. But the reigning world champion, Ludmila
Formanova of the Czech Republic, dropped out on the second lap of
her heat because of a sore left ankle.
In the shot put, 1996 silver medalist John Godina had the
second-best throw of 67 feet, 6¼ inches in the qualifying round.
Also advancing were fellow Americans Adam Nelson and Andy Bloom.
Arsi Harju of Finland had the best qualifying throw of 70-2¼.
Godina was a late Olympic replacement for U.S. teammate C.J.
Hunter, the reigning world champion. Hunter dropped out after
arthroscopic knee surgery.
In the walk, officials upheld the disqualification of Segura,
who won the bronze medal in 1996 in that event and holds the world
record.
Segura denied breaking any rules.
"They can't disqualify me," he said. "It would be unfair
because I ran a clean race."
The
Mexican team disputed the ruling, claiming the walker should have only been
charged with two violations. A third instance of improperly lifting
feet and breaking contact with the ground -- in other words, jogging
instead of walking -- results in automatic disqualification.
"He took a risk at the end for the gold," said Tim Seaman of
Chula Vista, Calif., the only American in the walk, who was unsure
what place he had finished an hour after the race. "You're always
pushing, pushing, pushing. The gold is never easy."
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