There's no beating three of a kind
ATHENS -- Hey, world, BALCO this.
There were, shall we say, somewhat lowered expectations for the US in the sprints, were there not? Guess again. Justin Gatlin won the 100-meter dash Sunday, but that was just the appetizer for last night's main course, when America went 1-2-3 in the 200.
"That shows dominance," smirked silver medalist Bernard Williams. "I agree," said Shawn Crawford, who won his first gold medal with a personal-best 19.79. "The US was able to bring its top guys in the 200. That was the goal we had -- to sweep. It hadn't been done in 20 years. It's what we were aiming for. And we want to do it again next time. We want to go there and have a family reunion at the next Olympics."
Gatlin, the 22-year-old from New York via Pensacola, Fla., picked up a bronze when it looked as if he would bag a silver. But Williams passed him in the last 10 meters.
"I ran eight races," Gatlin explained. "I never ran eight races in my life, even in college. These are the Olympics. These are the best runners in the world. I'm running on fumes and heart right now. When I get a rest, I will come back strong."
It's been a great week for Gatlin and Crawford, who are North Carolina-based training partners. They came here vowing to win medals, and now each has a gold. Crawford, 26, had to wait four days longer to get one than his young friend, but he says it was surely worth the wait.
"Once the 100 was over, I pushed the race from my mind and started to focus on the 200," he said. "I had no animosity or anger. My purpose here was to run the 100, 200, and 4 x 100. I'm happy to capture the gold in the 200, and now I can concentrate on the 4 x 100."
The competitors will long remember this race, because it featured a start like no other. With four minutes remaining before the scheduled start of 10:50 p.m., Athens time, the capacity crowd began making some serious noise. This was their chance to make their feelings known about the absence of defending 200-meter champion Kostas Kenteris, the disgraced Greek sprinter who made headlines two weeks ago when he was not available to take a routine drug test, who then claimed to be injured in a motorcycle accident no one saw, and who, along with female sprinter Katerina Thanou, finally withdrew from the Games under heavy pressure.
Kenteris is such a big name in Greece that he was going to light the Olympic torch. He has professed to be clean from drugs, and it was clear last night that the locals believe him, or want to, anyway.
Quiet is requested at the start of a race in order that the runners can hear the instructions, and under normal circumstances no one has to be asked to settle down. But this crowd would not allow the race to start. They booed and whistled when the runners were announced, and they booed and whistled even more when asked by the PA announcer to quiet down. Veteran sprinter Frankie Fredericks, the great Namibian godfather of sprint, motioned to the crowd to cooperate, to no avail.
The delay lasted seven minutes, and "It was bad," said Portugal's Francis Obikwelu, who finished fifth (Fredericks was fourth). It wasn't good for us. We were on the blocks saying, `Let's go, let's go. We were all ready to run.' "
"Our coaches had warned us something like that might occur," said Gatlin. "We understand the Greek fans were upset their man wasn't running, but we were here to put on a show, and we might have had an even better race if they hadn't done that."
"It was fun for me," claimed Williams, a real loose cannon. "I basically got a kind of glimpse of it yesterday when I started smiling and they began booing."
"I don't think the race disrupted anybody," said Crawford. "Sometimes there are situations that arise you must be ready for. They test your mental capacity."
Though the Americans surely dominated, all were happy to pay homage to the noble Fredericks, who has won four silver medals, two in the 100 and two in the 200, and who, just five weeks shy of his 37th birthday, is still a formidable competitor.
"I told him before the race it was an honor to run with him," said Gatlin.
"I voted for him for the Olympic Committee," said Crawford. "He's a great guy who has conducted himself with honor and dignity."
"Don't forget about me," added Williams. "I gave Frankie Fredericks a hug and thanked him for his contribution to sport."
So give the Americans high marks for sportsmanship.
As for the race, Crawford was just too good on this occasion. Asked if he minded waiting a day to get his medal, he almost sounded like Dave Cowens, who, after winning his first title, said the real thrill was in the doing.
"I'll be happy to have a gold medal on my mantle," he said. "But I've got a gold medal in my heart right now, and I feel real good about it."
And we know the folks at the USOC are happy. Sweeps always put a spring in their steps. 