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Hazy forecast Runners must overcome weather, wind for record runs
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- Don't expect Maurice Greene to break his world record in the 100-meter final at the Sydney Games. Florence Griffith Joyner's world records in the women's 100 and 200 appear safe from Marion Jones' clutches. World records in the distance races also are unlikely, despite the expected cool weather. Although the forecasters are predicting temperatures in the 60s for late this month when the track and field competition is held -- from Sept. 22-Oct. 1 -- the sprinters will be buffeted by the expected headwinds in 110,000-seat Olympic Stadium. While the distance runners -- from 1,500 meters through the marathon --should find the conditions ideal, history dictates that world records in those events will stand. "I don't think the times are going to be as fast as everyone thinks (in the sprints)," said Ato Boldon of Trinidad & Tobago, the 1996 bronze medalist in the 100 and 200, who already has competed in the stadium. "The wind blows almost directly down the straight into which the 100 meters is run. That's not something that sprinters love." When Greene set the world record of 9.79 seconds at Athens, Greece, last year, the weather was hot and the wind negligible. The same conditions existed when he ran 9.80 in winning the 1999 world championship later at Seville, Spain. When Canada's Donovan Bailey set the 100 world record of 9.84 in 1996 at the Atlanta Games, he also was the beneficiary of warm weather and little wind. "The times this year don't matter," Boldon said. "You run to win. The Olympics is when time matters least." That's what Jones should be thinking. She is facing a herculean task in trying to win an unprecedented five gold medals and will need to pace herself to remain fit for five events -- the 100, 200, 400 relay, 1,600 relay and long jump. She has come the closest to breaking FloJo's marks of 10.49 in the 100 and 21.34 in the 200. Jones' best times are 10.65 and 21.62, both at altitude. Sydney is at sea level, so that will not help her. If the weather is cool, "it will have a physical and psychological effect on the sprinters and jumpers," said Ernie Gregoire, an assistant U.S. women's coach in charge of the long jumpers, triple jumpers and hurdlers. "The ballistic athletes depend on warm weather," he added. Include the throwers in the group that prefers the warmth, said Jerry Quiller, an assistant U.S. men's coach responsible for the distance runners from 1,500 meters through 10,000 meters. "Sprinters, jumpers and throwers don't want to have to compete with their sweats on," he said. "The distance guys will love the cool weather unless it's windy. If it's just cool, they'll be fresher after running their heats or rounds." Despite the gloomy forecast for the sprinters and jumpers, Gregoire thinks world records are possible. "When you get in this kind of situation and the adrenaline starts flowing and there's that quest to be No. 1, great things happen," he said. "Special events bring out special times from special people." U.S. high jumper Kenny Evans doesn't think anything special will occur in his event if the weather isn't warm. "In that case, I don't think people will jump as high," he said. "People will just have to tough it out in the cold weather. "I don't know of anyone breaking the world record when it's been cold. I don't think anything explosive will happen." American long jumper Melvin Lister doesn't believe the weather will be a factor. "If you're feeling good, the record will fall," he said. "If not, it won't." Abdi Abdirahman, a member of the U.S. 10,000-meter team, said, "It depends on how cold it gets. If it's real cold, it might not help set a world record, but the cold probably will help some people get PRs (personal records) by a couple of seconds. "I prefer the cooler weather, not cold," he said. No matter the weather, distance runners don't often set world records at the Olympics, because most of the races are tactical. Of the top performances in races between 1,500 and the marathon, plus the walks, very few came at the games. Going into this year, the highest-standing mark from the Olympics was 27:07.34 by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie in winning the 10,000 meters at Atlanta, and that ranked only 18th. Only three other Olympic marks ranked in the top 50 in the 10,000. There were none in the 1,500, 5,000, marathon or the walks, and only one in the 3,000 steeplechase -- the then-world record 8:08.02 by Anders Garderud of Sweden in 1976, and that was No. 49. In the women's events, there were four remaining marks in the 1,500, led by Russian Tatyana Kazankina's 3:56.56 in 1980, which was No. 23 at the beginning of the year, and four in the 10,000, headed by Portuguese Fernanda Riberio's 31:01.63 in 1996, No. 34. The biggest beneficiaries of the cool conditions might be the walkers. "Usually the weather is conducive for sprinters," U.S. race walker Andrew Hermann said. "After being in Seville and Athens (for the past two World Championships), where it was scorching hot, you will see world-class times that you didn't see in those conditions. "Anyone from the 5,000 up is ecstatic about this. The sprinters have had it warm every other meet."
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