Men's 400m Hurdles Final
Adkins Wins It With Fast Start
Derrick ADKINS (USA) won the 400m hurdles gold medal in his home town with a quick start and tough homestretch run. ADKINS made up the stagger on the man immediately to his right, Sven NYLANDER (SWE), by the fifth hurdle, and was a clear leader coming off the eighth, leaving the rest of the field to battle for second. Samuel MATETE (ZAM) had the best closing speed, winning the silver out of lane one. Calvin DAVIS (USA) finished strongly after crashing the first hurdle, chesting out a diving NYLANDER for the bronze.
Medalists: Derrick ADKINS (USA), 47.54; Samuel MATETE (ZAM), 47.78, Calvin DAVIS (USA), 47.96.
Perec Becomes Second Person to Win 200/400 Gold ...
Putting her strength from the 400m to good use, Marie-Jose PEREC (FRA) captured her second gold medal by winning the women's 200m. Merlene OTTEY (JAM), in a bid for her first Olympic gold medal, was first out of the blocks and gapped the field by the first 100 meters. PEREC dug deep with 40 meters remaining, only passing OTTEY in the final 5 meters. OTTEY, with the silver, now has six Olympic medals.
Medalists: Marie-Jose PEREC (FRA),22.12; Merlene OTTEY (JAM), 22.24; Mary ONYALI (NGR), 22.38.
"I think my forte is at the finish because I have so much endurance from running the 400m. I train as if the 200m is the 100m," said PEREC.
... And Johnson Third, in Massive Lowering of World Record
Unbelievable is the only word to describe Michael JOHNSON (USA) as he won his second gold medal in destroying the men's 200m field and the world record Thursday night. A good start gave JOHNSON a 3m lead over Frank FREDERICKS (NAM) out of the turn, and he turned it on down the stretch, amazingly pulling away from the field to run 19.32. That lowered his old world record by .34 seconds. FREDERICKS was the third fastest ever for the silver in 19.68, with Ato BOLDON (TRI) a clear third at 19.80. JOHNSON is the first man to win the Olympic 200/400 double.
Medalists: Michael JOHNSON (USA), 19.32; Silver, Frank FREDERICKS (NAM), 19.68; Ato BOLDON (TRI), 19.80.
"It more important that I won both the 200m and 400m, than setting the world record. The most important thing is to make history," said JOHNSON.
O'BRIEN Puts It Away on Second Day
Known as a good second-day performer, Dan O'BRIEN (USA) didn't disappoint, stringing together a strong pole vault and javelin to win the decathlon gold. With a 13.47 hurdles run, eventual silver medalist Frank BUSEMAN (GER) got to within 61 points of O'BRIEN. But the world record holder gained 61 points on his rival in the vault, and matched the German in the javelin with a personal best of 66.90m to salt the win away. Tomas DVORAK (CZE) ran a quick 1500m to overtake Steve FRITZ (USA) by 20 points for the bronze.
Medalists:Dan O'BRIEN (USA); 8824 points; Frank BUSEMANN (GER) 8706 points; Tomas DVORAK (CZE), 8664 points.
MAY and AJUNWA Pace Long Jump Qualifying
There were just a couple of surprises in women's long jump qualifying, with Inessa KRAVETS (UKR) and Ljudmila NINOVA (AUT) not achieving marks. Other than that, most of the notable names took the easy route into the finals by leaping the automatic qualifying mark. That included Jackie JOYNER-KERSEE (USA), the longest jumper in the world coming into Olympic competition, whose status was doubtful after pulling out of the heptathlon.
Top Qualifiers: Fiona MAY (ITA), 6.85; Chioma AJUNWA (NGR), 6.81; Sharon JAKLOFSKY (NED), 6.75; Tunda VASZI (HUN), 6.73; Iryna CHEKHOVTSOVA (UKR), 6.70; Jackie JOYNER-KERSEE (USA), 6.70; Agata KARCZMAREK (POL), 6.70.
Fourteen Headed for Saturday's Final
No one reached automatic qualifying in the women's high jump, but 14 jumpers made the 1.93m mark to get into the final. Stefka KOSTADINOVA (BUL), the world record holder, was one of those, along with world champion Inha BABKOVA (UKR) and Alina ASTAFEI (GER).
Top Qualifiers: Alina ASTAFEI (GER), 1.93; Inha BABAKOVA (UKR), 1.93; Niki BAKOGIANNI (GRE),1.93; Antonella BEVILACQUA (ITA), 1.93; Yelena GULYAYEVA (RUS), 1.93; Hanne HAUGLAND (NOR), 1.93.
Near Fall Knocks Out Defending Olympic Champion
Slow sections with lots of jostling characterized both of the women's 1500m semifinal. In heat one, defending Olympic champion Hassiba BOUMERKA (ALG) was shoved to lane five and finished last in 4:23.86. Theresia KIESEL (AUT) won the heat at 4:09.44. A trip in heat two nearly took down the entire field, although everyone stayed up with the exception of Naomi MUGO (KEN), who was moved through to the final.
Top Qualifiers: Kelly HOLMES (USA), 4:05.88; Regina JACOBS (USA), 4:06.13; Margaret CROWLEY (AUS), 4:06.21; Leah PELLS (CAN), 4:06.26; Carla SACRAMENTO (POR), 4:06.70; Theresia KIESL (AUT), 4:09.44.
Fast Preliminaries For Men
In contrast to the women's 1500m semifinals, the men ran quick times on the way to qualifying. World record holder Noureddine MORCELI (ALG) kicked confidently off a strong pace in the first heat, with defending Olympic champion Fermin CACHO (ESP) closely following. Morocco's Hicham EL GUERROUJ won the second semifinal in a slower 3:35.29.
Top Qualifiers: Noureddine MORCELI (ALG), 3:32.88; Fermin CACHO (ESP), 3:33.12; Abdi BILE (SOM), 3:33.30; William TANUI (KEN), 3:33.57; Laban ROTICH (KEN), 3:33.73; Driss MAAZOUZI (MAR), 3:34.55.
African Runners a Force in Qualifying
Runners from Africa dominated the semifinals of the men's 5000m, with Kenya and Morocco putting three in the 15-man final. Shem KORORIA (KEN) won a hotly paced first section in 13:27.50, while countryman Tom NYARIKI won a kicker's race in the second at 14:03.21.
Top Qualifiers: Shem KORORIA (KEN), 13:27.50; Paul BITOK (KEN), 13:27.61; Brahim LAHLAFI (MAR), 13:27.73; Bob KENNEDY (USA), 13:27.90; Genny DI NAPOLI (ITA), 13:28.80; Khalid BOULAMI (MAR), 13:29.72.
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