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A Reply
Dear Editor: The two-part series on the president of the International Amateur Athletics Federation, Primo Nebiolo, in SI's Olympic Daily (July 31 and Aug. 1), wrongly and unfairly portrays a man and a federation which have changed the face of track and field in the modern age. Over one year ago when I was approached by SI with the request for an interview with the IAAF president, I recommended he accept, knowing SI's integrity and high standard. We met two writers and a photographer shortly thereafter and freely answered all their questions for several hours. An SI photographer was later welcomed into Dr. Nebiolo's home on the presumption of fairness and objectivity. This, of course, wouldn't fit into your "dictatorial" characterization and thus was conspicuously overlooked in the story. The story's reliance on hearsay, unsubstantiated accusations and questionable sources belies the high standard we presumed your magazine would maintain. Worse, with its sarcastic and belittling tone, the series appears a sad testimony to the American media's inability to understand a "foreigner" of Nebiolo's stature. One can only wonder how SI, as an Olympic sponsor, could make such a mean-spirited and misleading story, which has little or nothing to do with the Olympics, in a publication which would appear intended as a review of daily activity at the Games. Fortunately for Atlanta and these Games, the track and field competitions and their protagonists have risen to new levels of brilliance and international notoriety. These results are the answer to such insinuations, and objective evidence that those who lead the track and field movement deserve more consideration, admiration and respect. Sincerely,
Robert J. Fasulo Although Sports Illustrated is an Olympic sponsor, the magazine maintains its editorial independence in covering the Atlanta Games. The Olympic Daily stands by its story.—ED. As a way to get its all-too-familiar slogan displayed inside Olympic venues—where advertising is prohibited—Nike has been distributing free signs that read: just do it usa. Zealous spectators have taken to waving them, and ACOG has taken to chasing Nike reps from their posts outside the venues. Some official sponsors are peeved as well. Said Reebok spokesman Dave Fogelson, "For them to go to that low level for exposure is surprising." Nah. Not surprising at all.
Jan Zelezny If, as expected, he wins his second straight gold in the javelin tonight, Jan Zelezny is not going to Disney World. He's going to AtlantaFulton County Stadium. Zelezny (below) is set to be evaluated on Wednesday by the Atlanta Braves pitching coaches. The 30-year-old Czech, who holds the world record of 323'1/8", was spotted in Europe by a Braves scout. "Jan's the most explosive thrower on the planet," says U.S. javelin thrower Tom Pukstys, who has himself drawn the interest of the New York Yankees. "Line him up with $6 million pitchers, and they'd look pitiful." Zelezny, who has never been to a baseball game, is eager to try out his arm. "If they tell me O.K., I'm happy," he says. "If they tell me no, fine, my life is still athletics."
Race walking has been likened to a contest to see who can whisper the loudest. Admittedly an esoteric discipline, walking has been a part of the Games since 1906. These days, however, competing for spectator interest against more, well, dynamic events, walking is in danger of becoming irrevocably marginalized. Did anyone really expect fans still buzzing from Michael Johnson's 19.32 on Thursday night to gear down for yesterday morning's 50-kilometer walk? That's 3-1/2 hours of athletic whispering. In the interest of promoting this sport, we offer the following modest proposal: The 100-meter walk. Think about it—the whole stadium on its feet as eight athletes burst from the blocks and wiggle their way down the track, leaning dramatically at the finish less than a minute later. If that works out, we could add the 110-meter walking hurdles, the walking triple jump, even the walking pole vault. The sky's the limit. We just have to take that first step.
This may come as a shock to anyone following the Games on NBC, but occasionally a nation other than the U.S. wins a gold medal. And when another nation wins, its anthem—not The Star-Spangled Banner—is played during the victory ceremony. There are 197 countries competing in Atlanta, and ACOG is prepared, at the drop of a shot put or shuttlecock, to cue up the anthem for any one of them. ACOG began collecting recordings of anthems more than two years ago from U.S. military bands and, at a 1994 meeting of national Olympic committees in Atlanta, set up an "anthem verification booth." There, an official from each national committee donned headphones and listened to ACOG's recording of his or her country's anthem before signing a certification form. Several anthems had to be rerecorded and okayed later by phone, and some countries, such as Zimbabwe and South Africa, have since changed their anthems. (All songs, by the way, were limited to 75 seconds—meaning Uruguay's four-minute, 12-second tune took a big cut, but the 32-second Bahrain ditty had time for an encore.) Once all 197 songs had been confirmed, a tape was made and converted to interactive CD. Now, technicians at each venue—drilled to tell the difference between Slovenia and Slovakia and Togo and Tonga—can select any anthem with a mouse click. So far there have been no mistakes, though only 39 of the 197 have been played. Too bad only one has been heard on NBC.
Lang Ping She was the world's greatest female volleyball player, a 6'3" outside hitter who led China to the 1984 Olympic gold. Lang Ping, called the Iron Hammer for her ferocious spikes, was so popular in her country that her picture was put on a stamp and her wedding was shown on TV. Today Lang, 35, will be coaching the Chinese in the final against Cuba. The only female coach in the women's tournament—"We feel like she's a sister and a friend," says team captain Lai Yawen—she's also the coolest head in the house. "If I am calm, I will be able to think through my decisions with greater rationality," says Lang, who in 18 months as coach has pulled China's program out of a tailspin, which began, by the way, with her retirement in 1986.
Not much has gone right for Atlanta's Gwen Torrence, who once hoped to win three gold medals at these Olympics. After failing even to qualify for the 200 meters at the U.S. trials, she won a bronze in the 100 and tonight will get her last shot at winning a gold, as the anchor for the 4¥100 relay. Torrence has even had difficulties watching the Olympics. On Thursday night she was home taking in the action on TV when, shortly before the final of the women's 200—an event she had won in '92—her reception went on the fritz. "I was going crazy, so I jumped in my car and drove to McDonald's," says Torrence, whose local burger spot has a TV set going during the Games. Torrence saw France's Marie-José Pérec win but had to flee the restaurant when she was besieged by autograph-seekers. She sped to her sister's house in time to see Michael Johnson in the next event, the men's 200. Torrence may not have achieved her goals at these Olympics, but this much is clear: She's still as fast as ever.
SI Olympic Dailies
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