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Kirkland battles to surprise win
EDMONTON, Alberta -- We expected a United States storyline in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Either Gail Devers would win her fourth straight world title and fifth consecutive world championships medal or 22-year-old Jenny Adams, who ran superbly through the early rounds, would emerge as the new name on the scene. But on a day that had its share of soap operas, who expected we'd resurrect the name of Anjanette Kirkland? The hurdlers' times from the semifinal heats (Devers 12.56 seconds, Adams 12.67, Kirkland 12.80) certainly didn't offer any hints. In the final, however, Kirkland surprised the field from Lane 1, crossing in 12.42 seconds, with Devers second in 12.54 and Adams fifth. "She was out like a cannon," Devers said of her countrywoman. "I said, 'Where are you going, girl?'" Kirkland was going into the gossip pages back in January when she was dismissed from the HSI team for what members will only say was an unspecified act of disloyalty. Things came to a foamy head at a bar in Eugene, Ore., on July 24 when John Smith, the coach who dismissed her, went to congratulate Kirkland on qualifying for the U.S. world team and, according to some accounts, was rebuked by Kirkland's mother, Patricia, as being insincere. A brawl ensued, leaving several participants scratched or injured and giving a black eye to the sport. Kirkland had said her participation here was in doubt because of neck and back pain resulting from the incident. "I didn't harbor any ill feelings when I got kicked out," Kirkland insisted Saturday. "I still don't. This is a business. I've moved on. ... I knew if I reacted to the gun, the victory would be mine." Kirkland has spent the last month under the tutelage of Tony Dees, a top U.S. hurdler for the past decade. Devers, the veteran, also passed along some advice: "I told her a few weeks ago, 'Don't let anyone take away your joy.'" Title in hand, that won't be happening anytime soon.
Relay squad avoids mishapThe U.S. men's 4x100-meter relay team got a rare reprieve Saturday as an IAAF jury of appeals reinstated it after officials originally disqualified the team. The problem started when leadoff man Jon Drummond began to hobble halfway through his run with an injured right quadriceps. "From my drive to my acceleration phase, it felt like someone pinched my right leg," Drummond explained. "Two steps later, it felt like someone punched me. Then I buckled. After I felt myself buckle, I took one wide step to get to the middle of the lane." Drummond gamely fought through his discomfort and handed the baton to Mickey Grimes, but not before that wide step brought him to the inside of his lane. Officials didn't initially rule that he had gone over the lane line. But after the British team, which failed to pass the baton in another heat, filed a protest, the Americans apparently were handed another DQ. Only after viewing the videotape again did the jury determine that a shadow was obscuring a clear view of Drummond's foot. The team was back in. For a nation of great sprinters, the letters DQ and DNF have become much too commonplace. Call this the era of the botched relay. The team never made it through the 1988 Olympics or the '95 or `97 worlds. At the Atlanta Games, U.S. coaches left Carl Lewis off the team as an 11th-hour resolution to a messy controversy. The quartet ran poorly and finished second behind Canada. In Sunday's final, with the Canadians weakened by age and injury and several teams already out with first-round disqualifications of their own (Cuba, Great Britain, Germany), look for the U.S. to right itself and step back onto the top podium step, having survived its customary fumble.
Yegorova emerges victoriousRussia's Olga Yegorova won the great Catfight of Edmonton Saturday, as bitter rival Gabriela Szabo of Romania struggled into eighth place in the 5,000 meters. After a meet in Paris last month, Yegorova produced an 'A' sample that tested positive for EPO. Doping officials later reinstated her after ruling that a technical error had invalidated the test results. Szabo, who won the 1,500 meters earlier this week, had threatened to boycott the 5,000 if Yegorova were allowed to compete. Both runners eventually ran. As she neared the finish line ahead of the field on Saturday, Yegorova ran through a chorus of hoots, boos and derisive chants of "Go, go, E-P-O." Yegorova protested her innocence after the race and offered no apology to the fans. "Maybe it's their personal business and their personal choice [to boo]," she said, "but I do not consider myself guilty. ... What do you think, should I have come in second or third to please the crowd?" The crowd will have another chance to voice its displeasure on Sunday when Yegorova receives her medal.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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