Summer Olympics 2000 Johnson, Freeman make respective finals

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Sunday, September 24
Johnson, Freeman make respective finals
Associated Press

SYDNEY, Australia -- Mark Crear, silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games, ignored a rain-drenched track to place third in his second-round heat of the men's 110-meter hurdles and reach the semifinals.

"These are the Winter Olympics," Crear said. "They don't seem like the summer."

Not all the athletes were upset by the weather. Russia's Irina Privalova won her heat in the women's 400-meter hurdles and said the conditions were fine.

"Now in Moscow it's one degree (34 degrees Fahrenheit)," she said. "I like this weather."

Tereza Marinova of Bulgaria won the women's triple jump with a leap of 49 feet, 10{ inches (15.20 meters). Tatiana Lebedeva of Russia won the silver medal and Olena Hovorova of Ukraine got the bronze.

In the heptathlon, Denise Lewis of Britain won with 6,584 points. Yelena Prokhorova of Russia won the silver medal with 6,531 and Natalia Sazanovich of Belarus, the 1996 silver medalist, got bronze this time with 6,527.

Szymon Ziolkowski of Poland won the Olympic men's hammer throw at 262 feet, 6 inches Sunday. The silver went to Nicola Vizzoni of Italy. The bronze was won by Igor Astapkovich of Belarus.

Cathy Freeman ran through a heavy rain to victory in her semifinal of the women's 400 meters. Michael Johnson was beaten by U.S. compatriot Alvin Harrison while running cautiously in his semifinal of the men's 400, but easily qualified for Monday's final.

Harrison won that semifinal in 44.53 seconds. Johnson was second in 44.65. The other semifinal was won by another American, Antonio Pettigrew, in 45.24.

"I was able to get through it without any problems, so there's no sense harping about what the weather was today," Johnson said. "I hope it's better tomorrow."

Joining Crear in the semifinals of the 110-meter hurdles was 1996 Olympic champion and U.S. teammate Allen Johnson. Also advancing were the third American in the event, Terrence Trammell, and world champion Colin Jackson of Britain.

"It was more wet, windy and cool than America," Allen Johnson said. "But at this point, the weather means nothing. After four years of hard work, no one's going to let the weather stop them."

Samuel Matete of Zambia, the silver medalist in 1996, had the fastest time of 48.98 seconds in the first round of the men's 400-meter hurdles. Americans James Carter, Angelo Taylor and Eric Thomas all also advanced to the semifinals.

Defending Olympic champion Deon Hemmings of Jamaica won her heat in the first round of the women's 400-meter hurdles in 55.44 seconds. Also advancing were U.S. hurdlers Kim Batten and Sandra Glover, but 1996 bronze medalist Tonja Buford-Bailey was eliminated.

Earlier in the day, Naoko Takahashi overcame 91 percent humidity to win gold in the women's marathon in an Olympic-best 2 hours, 23 minutes, 14 seconds to become the first Japanese woman with an Olympic track and field gold medal.

Takahashi, running alone for the last four miles, broke the finish-line tape and raised her arms in triumph. Then she bowed to the crowd.

Lidia Simon of Romania won silver in 2:23.22 and Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya won bronze.

Takahashi broke the previous Olympic best of 2:24.52 set by Joan Benoit in the inaugural women's marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

"It really hasn't set in to me that I have really won the gold medal," Takahashi said through a translator. "Sometimes I feel a little sorry that it's finished and sometimes I feel relieved."

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