October 2001 Issue

U.S. Speed Still There
by Garry Hill

A 1-2-3 sweep in the men's 100 at the World Championships capsulized everything that was both right and wrong with the U.S. team.

Edmonton, Alberta, August 3-12-Since track & field became an international sport, it has been a given that the United States would do well in the dashes.

Canada's hosting of World Championships VIII did nothing to dispel that notion, but the burgeoning impression that the U.S. can do little but sprint is not a pleasant one to contemplate.

To be sure, the U.S. medal take of late has largely been in the speed events, but even the definition of "sprint" was tightened in Edmonton. For the first time in Olympic or WC history, the U.S. was restricted to individual running medals at 200m or less. That's right, nothing even in the 1-lappers, with or without hurdles.

At 19, the overall U.S. medal haul was actually an improvement over both last time (17) and the two preceding editions of the meet (both 18s). But for the first time ever, it wasn't clearly the biggest take of all, the Russians matching the total.

Long gone are the halcyon days like the first Worlds, Helsinki '83, where the U.S. stood on the podium 27 times, even with 4 fewer events. With the increased globalization of the sport, it's not unexpected-or even that bad a thing-that the U.S. share of the jackpot would diminish. What is somewhat unexpected-and bad-is that the cuts haven't come across the board…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Marion's 100 Streak Ended
by Jon Hendershott

WHAT HAPPENED to Marion Jones in Edmonton that never happened before?
Gotcha! She won a World Championship title at 200.

If your first response was that she lost a global 100 final, you'd also be correct, of course. But in spite of Marion's winning the furlong crown for the first time, the '01 Worlds will forever be remembered as the edition where track fans got a glimpse of her mortal side, and where her winning streak of 42 in century finals was terminated.

Jones lost the 100 final by 0.03 to Zhanna Pintusevich-Block (see sidebar). The Ukrainian's 10.82 was the fastest in the world this year, but it was indeed an upset.

However, whether it was the post-Olympic demands on the biggest star of the Games or the highly publicized divorce from steroid-banned husband C.J. Hunter, this year's version of Marion was not the invincible one we've become accustomed to.

But for the first two rounds of the 100, at least, it was business as usual. Jones easily won her heat in a quick 10.93, well ahead of the next fastest heat winners, Ekateríni Thánou of Greece (11.12) and Pintusevich-Block (11.14).

Later that evening, Jones ran a smooth 10.97 easing up at the finish of her quarterfinal, and everything seemed to be going according to plan.

But the next day's semis were where things got interesting…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Mo Hobbled But Fast

IN ONE OF THE deepest and fastest championship 100s ever run, Maurice Greene needed every millisecond of his remarkable speed to win his third consecutive global title.

The 27-year-old World Record holder, already running with a bad knee, led from the gun but with 15m left was hit by two separate pulls, quad and hamstring. He grimaced and muscled through the pain to win in history's No. 3 time, 9.82, edging fast-closing teammate Tim Montgomery by 0.03…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Finding The Right Sprinters
by Jon Hendershott

One-two-three finishes are a delicious confection at any championship meet. Medal sweeps are rare enough and when they come in the 100-one of the premier events at any title affair-they're to be savored all the more. So sprint fans from Canada's big neighbor to the south were thrilled when Maurice Greene, Tim Montgomery and Bernard Williams claimed all the century's hardware.

It was the first 100 sweep in a decade and only the third in Worlds history. But could the U.S. have had even one more finalist?

Yes, there could have been a quartet of Americans settling into the blocks for the climactic dash. As reigning world champ, Maurice Greene got a free pass, while Montgomery, Williams and Curtis Johnson earned tickets by their 1-2-3 placings at the USATF.

But in the capricious world of top-level sprinting, injury is the menace forever lurking just offstage. Johnson turned out to be the one ambushed by leg miseries, first at the end of the 100 at the Monaco Golden League meet.

The same hamstring tightened again as Johnson warmed up some 45 minutes before Edmonton's first round and he withdrew from the heats. So the U.S. lost one of its four entrants before the starter's gun ever fired.

The 200 squad was similarly depleted. Injury at the end of the 100 prevented Greene from defending his half-lap title. and an ailing hamstring felled world leader Ramon Clay in the quarters.

But nowhere did the dramatic climax of the 100 create such major tremors as in the 4x1-an event already fraught with anxiety due to the seemingly eternal uncertainty which swirls around the makeup of virtually any U.S. team…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

El G Still The Greatest
by Toby Cook

What happens to a dream deferred?

If you're the man Seb Coe calls "the greatest miler ever," what happens when your dream becomes nightmare as you've, thus far, been unable to obtain the crowning jewel of your sport? When you've faced bitter disappointment in consecutive Olympic Games-despite having nary a blemish on your racing record in the four years between-is there any chance at retribution until the next opportunity to rectify your Olympic failure? Maybe, maybe not.

But if you're Hicham El Guerrouj, handily winning your third straight 1500 world championship can't hurt the recovery process. And, if smiles and genuine depictions of emotion are any indication, El Guerrouj's Edmonton victory was a very important element in taking the sting out of that disappointment.

Running in the concluding individual race of the meet, and what he said would be his last 1500, El Guerrouj left a lasting impression, winning more convincingly than the 0.42 difference over Bernard Lagat would suggest (3:30.68-3:31.10).

Mike Kosgei's return as the Kenyan coach had track fans abuzz as the men's distance races returned to the Kenyan team tactics of yesteryear. However, this would not be the case in the 1500, the only race above 800 to not have their tactical influence. Instead, it was the Moroccans' turn at teamwork, with appointed lamb Adil El Kaouch ensuring the final would be fast enough for El Guerrouj's liking, just as in Seville two years previous.

From the gun the Moroccans went immediately to the front…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Geb Beaten Back To 3rd
by Cordner Nelson

Gebrselassie lost! The fastest 10,000m runner of all time was defeated. Little Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie-twice Olympic champion, five times world champion, WR holder, undefeated at 10K since '93 while barely 20, undefeated at any race longer than 1500m since '96-was badly outkicked in the homestretch by young Charles Kamathi of Kenya.

The race had almost a dozen different leaders-and even more different orders behind the leader-but the front was always predominantly the red and green of the Africans. The pace fluctuated wildly-the first four laps, for example, going 64, 69, 71, 64-and was so mild that the leaders were once five abreast after more than nine laps, and they passed halfway in 14:15.11 without a single runner having lost contact.

After 21 laps there were still 11 in a tight pack. Having averaged over 67.5 seconds per lap, the pace picked up to 65, 65, and 66-certainly not sensational; barely enough to turn the pack into a file. Gebrselassie was usually tied for the lead or 2nd during the last kilo.

Heading to the bell they began some more serious speed, covering the penultimate 200 in 29.7. Into the last curve, Gebrselassie led as expected, with two teammates close to him and Kamathi 4th. Around the curve they bunched up as it became only too evident…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Hold The Gold Watch
by David Woods

Allen Johnson now has three World Championships titles to go with his Olympic win, but he's not finished.

Testimonials aren't appropriate for a 30-year-old who is as young as Allen Johnson. Having won his third WC gold, equaling the feat of Greg Foster, Johnson doesn't reflect on the past. He is more eager to address the future.

World Records? Maybe. He says he is at the peak of his career.

Paris in 2003? Of course, especially now that he has a bye.

Athens in 2004? His aim is to reclaim the gold that was his in '96.

"I told my coach a few days ago that I plan to run my last race in Beijing in 2008," Johnson says. "So I plan to be around a long time."

Coach Curtis Frye says Johnson has studied the history of the hurdles and knows the possibilities. Johnson explains, "It's not a power event. It's a technique event. As long as I can pretty much stay healthy and keep my weight down-165 to 170-I think I'll be able to hold up."

The North Carolina alum's athleticism is such that he was recruited out of high school as a decathlete and has PRs of 20.26 in the 200 and 26-8 1/4 in the long jump.

Frye says Johnson's marketability should increase in time because of the hurdler's character. However, that same dignity and quiet manner leave Johnson out of the media glare. On the day of his greatest glory, winning at Atlanta in an Olympic Record 12.95, he was a footnote to Carl Lewis's fourth long jump gold and Michael Johnson's 400 victory.

"I just go out there and do what I can," Johnson says. "One day, I figure maybe I'll get a little bit more recognition. But if I don't, then that's fine. I'm not going to sit around and worry about the amount of attention I get compared to someone else."

Johnson won his third Worlds gold in customary fashion, bolting…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Godina Leads U.S. 1-2
by Jon Hendershott

Art Venegas got what he wanted when pupil John Godina and U.S. rival Adam Nelson finished 1-2 in the shot.

The UCLA men's coach explains, "I talked with John and Adam out at the practice track when they were warming up for the final. I told them, 'Guys, you've got a hell of a rivalry, but let's go 1-2.'

"I said to Adam, 'Sorry Adam, I'm not going to lie: I'd rather see John finish 1st. But if it's you and then John, the most important thing is to get a U.S. 1-2.' " Mission accomplished.

Says Godina, "I'm very, very happy. This win is better than any of the others, especially after the kind of season I had last year."

Venegas clarifies, "I felt that John lost a bit of his aggression after the Olympic Trials. The other guys all threw fantastic. They were jumping in each other's arms and there was a kind of lovefest atmosphere. It was like the other guys thought they had John's number.

"I'm sure he wondered in the back of his mind if this year would be a thing of Janus [Robberts] or Adam hitting a bigger throw even if John got a good one. I think there was a lot of self-imposed tension.

"But John came back this season and trained so hard and so well all year. He looked around and realized…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Women's 100 Winner No Unknown
by David Woods

Marion Jones's apparent invincibility obscured the fact that Zhanna Pintusevich-Block has always been nearby. Indeed, the new world champion's residence in Johnson City, Tennessee, is only some 250M northwest of Jones's training base in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Last winter, when cold weather in the Southeast caused Jones to head for Miami during the Christmas season, who showed up at the same track? Pintusevich-Block.

The 29-year-old Ukrainian was a sprint prodigy, as Jones was. She was the European Junior 100 and 200 champ as long ago as '91. For a few minutes in '93, she held the indoor WR at 60m (6.09).

She thought she had won gold in the 100 in the '97 World Championships in Athens. She began celebrating before the scoreboard revealed the winner was Jones in her breakout season.

That's why the Worlds outcome in Edmonton was such a redemptive triumph for Pintusevich-Block, who had gotten some measure of satisfaction in Athens by capturing the 200 title.

"I thought all my hard work and everything I put in the sprint will pay back," she says. "Dream came true. I've been thinking about this since '97, and it's finally happened."

As Jones's victory margins markedly diminished this summer, Pintusevich-Block lost to her by 0.06 at Lausanne, 0.12 at Paris, 0.11 at Oslo. Then, at Edmonton, the Ukrainian won her semifinal (10.94 to 10.95), ending Jones's streak of 55 consecutive century victories, including heats.

"When I won my semifinal, it gave me confidence, of course," Pintusevich-Block says. "But you never know…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

OFF-TRACK SCANDAL and invective unfortunately made the women's 1500 and 5000 the soap-opera pairing of the Worlds (see sidebar). It was also the double that Olympic and two-time defending world 5K titlist Gabriela Szabo had fallen short of in Sydney. The on-track result was a pair of intriguing tactical contests.

In the 1500, Szabo was to face her most bitter rival, fellow Romanian Violeta Szekely, undefeated over the distance outdoors this season. In the 5000, Szabo was to take on World Indoor 3000 champ Olga Yegorova, who apparently failed a new test for EPO before being cleared on a procedural technicality.
First on tap was the shorter race. In its final Turkey's Süreyya Ayhan (63.78) and then Russia's World Indoor bronze medalist Natalya Gorelova (2:08.95, 3:14.45) towed the field through the first three laps, with Szekely in 2nd most of the way, followed by '97 winner Carla Sacramento of Portugal- her head swathed in a yellow and black do-rag-Szabo and Poland's Lidia Chojecka.

By 1000m, the first four had…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Kirkland's Tough Road
by David Woods

Anjanette Kirkland's ascension in the hurdles has been so unusual that it is difficult to say whether the story should be chronicled by Bud Greenspan or Jerry Springer.

Olympic solemnity meets tabloid TV.

By any standard, Kirkland is the outsider who overcame all barriers. She was "kicked out" of the high-profile HSI training group in January and left without a coach; she was obscured by U.S. teammates Gail Devers and Jenny Adams before Edmonton.

She was on the outside, in lane 8, when she won a gold medal at the indoor Worlds in Lisbon in March; and she was on the inside, in lane 1, in the Edmonton final.

While it was supposed to be a race between one American, Devers, going for a fourth world title, and another, Adams, coming off a 5-0 tour of Europe, the third American upstaged them both, as well as the reigning Olympic champion. She ran all alone, and finished alone atop the podium.

"I didn't surprise myself," Kirkland says. "Coming up in the call room, I already saw the gold around my neck. I was like, 'This is my show.' God allowed me to come out and show the world what I was capable of doing."

After a hotel fracas in Eugene during the USATF Championships, Kirkland wasn't sure she would be even capable of continuing the season, let alone becoming world champion…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

That Balky Wind Gauge

Some apparently miraculous times in the quarterfinals of the men's 100 lost their luster when it was quickly revealed the anemometer had been malfunctioning and that the runners hadn't been facing strong headwinds (see p. 8).

But the question remains: were the times legal or not? After deep analysis of the situation we're proud to announce the definitive answer. . . yes-no-maybe.

Veteran on-site statisticians are divided as to what the wind felt like near the track (the general rule of thumb is, if you can feel the wind, it's probably illegal).

The T&FN take, after looking at wind readings for all events for the meet as a whole, is that it's unlikely the wind was illegal. Illegal readings were very rare during the meet, and virtually nonexistent on the straightaway. And the men's triple jump Q, held almost at the same time, gave no evidence of high wind. Using the wind/altitude conversion charts found in the Big Green Book, it can be postulated that the semifinal results…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Schultz Not From The Mold

One of the World Champs' most amazing medalists was Ingo Schultz, unlooked-for winner of the 400 silver. His is a tall tale, and not just because he stands 6-7.

The 26-year-old German is an army lieutenant and engineering student. He's also an avid violinist and chess player. His first recorded race was a marathon, in which he ran 3:37 at Hamburg in '97.

In his first 400, in May of '98, he ran 52.45. He improved to 45.99 in '99, 45.79 last year, then…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Euro Circuit Reopens With a Bang In Zürich
by Ed Gordon

Zürich, Switzerland, August 17-Coming hard on the heels of the World Champs, which had ended only five days earlier, the Weltklasse somehow found six runners with sufficient energy to produce year-leading marks.

Certainly the most historic performance as the Golden League/Grand Prix geared back up came from Moroccan Brahim Boulami, who became the first non-Kenyan to pierce the 8:00 level in the steeple with a brilliant 7:58.50.

To answer the next question, yes, he won. But this time Kenyans surprisingly weren't factors, except in setting a perfect pace. John Langat (at 2:36.72 more than 2.0 ahead of tempo) and Julius Nyamu led the first 2km. Boulami followed diligently and actually looked anxious as he bolted to the lead 20m before the second kilo closed.

After that, he appeared to gain strength with each hurdle and sprinted hard to finish in a time only bettered by Bernard Barmasai (7:55.72) and Moses Kiptanui (7:56.16) in the same memorable '97 Cologne race.

"I was disappointed at the Worlds [10th], so I decided to give it everything here," said the 29-year-old Boulami, whose previous best of 8:02.90 came last year.

"I was surprised that no one stayed with the pacemakers except me, but I didn't feel it was a big risk because I knew I was in good shape. Now I know I can break the World Record if I have conditions similar to today."

The event which the entire stadium anticipated most was the 800, featuring André Bucher's heroic return from Edmonton…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)

Boulami World Record!
by Ed Gordon

Brussels, Belgium, August 24-The 25th Van Damme Memorial was a nostalgic microcosm of the great things that the meet has offered during its history: gritty head-to-head battles, thrilling upsets, the surprise unveiling of a new star and even something increasingly rare-a men's World Record.

Not only did Brahim Boulami's 7:55.28 steeplechase hit like a meteor, it dug a deep crater in the legion of runners who have maintained Kenya's grip on the WR since Henry Rono started the trend with his 8:05.4 in '78.

World champ Reuben Kosgei (7:57.29) and Stephen Cherono (7:58.66) added more Kenyan contributions to produce history's first triple sub-8:00 race, Cherono also grabbing the World Junior Record.

After his sub-8:00 in Zürich seven days earlier (see p. 46), Boulami had hinted he thought the record was possible "under conditions like today." Unfortunately, the Brussels pace didn't really measure up to Zürich's tempo. It was only the tenacity of Boulami-7th in Edmonton while hampered by a sore foot-which brought home the big prize.

The pace over the first two kilos was brisk but not the kind to presage a WR, as Josephat Kapkory (2:39.66) and John Langat (5:19.45) were pointing to a time around 8:00. By comparison, Langat had covered the first kilometer in Zürich in 2:36.72.

On the penultimate lap, with Boulami continually pressing the pace, there were four Kenyans-Kosgei and Cherono, plus Kipkirui Misoi and Julius Nyamu-stalking the Moroccan, waiting for even a small sign of weakness. Boulami felt that his best defense was to keep running fast.

Nearing the bell, Nyamu fell back and on the final backstretch…
(for more see the October issue of Track & Field News)