| Memnoch |
07-13-2004 03:07 AM |
In their pet events the 100m, anyway. :eek:
Quote:
Montgomery joins Jones on the sidelines
July 13, 2004
Sacramento, California: Under a blistering sun and with a wind that stood still, the reigning Olympic champion, Maurice Greene, reasserted his primacy while the world record-holder, Tim Montgomery, faded to a seventh-place footnote on Sunday in a breathtaking 100-metre final of the US Olympic track and field trials.
Greene blazed to victory in an Olympic-trials record 9.91 seconds, beaming in a spotlight that held no BALCO association and no threat of a lifetime ban for doping - both of which have shrouded Montgomery.
As Montgomery made his exit, he retraced a path taken by his dethroned partner, Marion Jones, on Saturday after her failure to make the US women's 100m team.
However, unlike Jones - who has been under investigation by anti-doping authorities but not charged - Montgomery has no other event to enter.
His clout in the sport has disintegrated since setting the world record of 9.78 seconds two years ago, and he was charged with doping violations last month.
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"The reason I didn't win was because y'all were on my back; I have to deal with y'all every day," he shouted at a throng of media.
Last November, Montgomery - who has not failed a drugs test - testified before the grand jury in the BALCO investigation involving allegations of doping. His hearing before the sport's highest court will likely take place at the end of the month.
Jones remains under investigation but has not been charged with using illicit performance-enhancing drugs, and vehemently denies using them.
But with their respective falls from grace at the trials, the two most visible sprinters linked with the BALCO case seemed diminished and, in some way, so did the urgency of the scandal itself.
For months, the US Olympic Committee has fretted that tainted athletes could compete in Athens next month and that medals won might have to be embarrassingly rescinded.
While the cases of the accused will proceed, the BALCO situation is unfolding in a competitive sense as much as in a legal sense. "These track performances take the edge off the US Anti-Doping Agency being up against the wall for the selection of the team," said Steven Ungerleider, a psychologist and doping expert.
Of the four athletes who have not failed drug tests but were facing the possibility of being barred from Athens, Montgomery finished next to last in the 100m, in 10.13 seconds; Chryste Gaines did not reach the women's 100m final; Alvin Harrison, the 2000 Olympic silver medallist at 400m, struggled to fourth place in his opening round; and Michelle Collins was a favourite in the women's 400m, but withdrew on Sunday with a hamstring injury.
Asked whether officials could breathe any easier, Herman Frazier, leader of the US Olympic squad, said: "You've just got to wait until the competition's over. You deal with the ancillary things later."
Jones, who won three gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and once had a shot at winning five in Athens, may now have a realistic shot at only one. She seems certain to make the long jump team on Thursday, but after her performance in the 100m, she may lack the endurance to qualify in the 200m.
If Jones qualifies in the long jump, she would also become eligible to run on the Olympic 4x100m and 4x400m relays. But if Jones is later determined to have used banned substances, the relay team could have to forfeit any medal won in Athens.
Greene is not the sort of character to ever be denied. Turning 30 in two weeks, he led home Olympic newcomers Justin Gatlin (9.92 seconds) and Shawn Crawford (9.93) in a photo finish in the 100m final.
For the past two years, Greene has struggled through injury and defeat, resulting from a broken leg sustained in a motorcycle accident. He agreed he was still not as intimidating as he once was, but his modesty soon passed.
Jabbing at the lion tattoo on his shoulder that bears the letters GOAT - for "Greatest Of All Time" - in its mane, Greene said: "It's all about the GOAT, baby, it's all about the GOAT. I accomplished what I wanted to. One down, one more to go.
"Now it's time to win in Athens. That's my goal."
New York Times, Cox News Service
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What's the mood in the US about all this, by the way? Is it a big deal or nobody cares? |
