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Deciding the best of U.S. track
Summer track season seems like a long time ago. Come autumn, it always does. This year, any sporting event that took place before Sept. 11 feels like something from another age. The warm afternoons and cool evenings I spent sitting in Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, covering the World Championships feel more distant than ever. So imagine how jarring it was to find last week in my e-mail box a ballot for this year's Jesse Owens Award, track and field's version of the Heisman Trophy. The timing was right: Ballots are due back by Oct. 1. But, of course, the mood was all wrong. Then I saw the names of the nominees and the juices started flowing. Men's NomineesJohn Godina, Maurice Greene, Allen Johnson, Alan Webb First reaction: Virginia prep runner Webb was the biggest name in U.S. track and field this year, breaking Jim Ryun's high school mile record and creating interest where there had been little. However, he's an 18 year old who can't yet beat the best runners in the world. Maybe soon, but not yet. So you can't give it to the kid. I love Mo Greene, and he won his third world title in the 100 meters -- in a blistering 9.82 -- running on one leg. But the injury, which shut him down after Edmonton, kept this from being his best year. Godina (shot put) and Johnson (110 hurdles) dominated their events and won world titles. It's got to be one of them. Upon further review: I can't shake the memory of sitting at the top of the stands at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., at the Prefontaine Classic in late May, watching Webb circle the field on the final lap, consumed by a roaring crowd, hitting the finish in an unfathomable 3:53.43. Unfathomable, at least, for an American teenager. It was the biggest moment in U.S. track and field since Michael Johnson doubled up in Atlanta. Webb made people notice track and field. Conclusion: In a normal year, I'd be happy to explain why I think Johnson barely deserves my vote over Godina. This is not a normal year. Webb gets the nod. Women's NomineesStacy Dragila, Deena Drossin, Marion Jones, Anjanette Kirkland First reaction: Gotta be Jones or Dragila. Upon further review: Drossin won her fourth straight U.S. 8K cross-country title, finished 12th at the World Cross Country Championships, and beat some Africans at the Bolder Boulder. She is the best women's distance runner in America, but that's still a modest claim by international standards, especially when swapping résumés with the likes of Stacy D and Mrs. Jones. Kirkland was the surprise of the year, winning indoor and outdoor hurdles titles, scorching a PR of 12.42 in Edmonton. Only Gail Devers has gone faster (12.33 best). Jones dominated the 100 and 200 for most of the year and won two gold medals in Edmonton. She also lost to Zhanna Pintusevich-Block in the 100 at worlds and ran slower than she has since 1997, when she returned to track full-time. Dragila won her second world outdoor title and set eight world records. Conclusion: Kirkland finishes a respectable third. Here's my tiebreaker for first: Jones and Dragila came to Edmonton -- and every other competition they entered -- as heavy favorites. Jones lost the 100 and barely won the deuce. Dragila won the vault, and during the year she moved to within fewer than three inches of 16 feet. Dragila gets my vote.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden covers track and field for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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