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NOMINEE |
THE SKINNY |
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Overrated |
Kenyan distance runner Daniel
Komen |
After a record-breaking 1997, he ran poorly, fueling speculation
that he was using performance-enhancing EPO during his record 5,000-meter run.
Rumors will heighten if he doesn't improve in
'99.
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Underrated |
Sprint coach John
Smith |
It can't be a coincidence that the two most consistent sprinters in
the world are Maurice Greene of the U.S. and Ato Boldon of Trinidad, and that
both have been tutored by former U.S. Olympian Smith. A trackside philosopher
whose ego is as large as his athletes', Smith delivers the
goods.
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Annoying |
The drug
issue |
It has become impossible for a track and field athlete to make a
dramatic leap in performance without prompting the nudge, nudge cynicism of the
sport's followers. From Michael Johnson to Marion Jones to almost every African
distance runner, performers who surpass the ordinary are suspected, fairly or
not.
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Breakthrough |
U.S. hurdler Bryan
Bronson |
U.S. 400-meter hurdler learned his event on a dirt track at a Texas
high school that owned only two hurdles. Last summer he dominated his event and
became the third-fastest 400H man in
history.
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Uplifting |
Jackie
Joyner-Kersee |
In the year that claimed her sister-in-law Florence Griffith
Joyner's life, JJK closed out the greatest multi-event career in history with a
courageous victory in the Goodwill Games heptathlon. As she hung on in the
grueling 800 meters, she reminded all of us how she inspired a generation of
girls not just to compete, but to
sweat.
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MVP |
Marion Jones |
In just two seasons as a fulltime track athlete, Jones has developed
into the greatest female sprint-jump talent in history. In 1998, she ran 10.65
for 100 meters, perilously close to Flo-Jo's 10-year-old world record of 10.49,
a mark once thought unreachable. She also threatened the world long-jump record
and lost just once in 38 competitions.
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Storyline to Follow in 1999 |
Keep up with Jones |
Marion Jones' remarkable quest to break Flo-Jo's 100- and 200-meter world
records and to continue pushing toward five gold medals in
Sydney.
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