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Hunter no longer hunted Shot put world champ withdraws from Olympics
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- C.J. Hunter's injured knee will keep the gold medal favorite from competing in the shot put at Sydney, giving the man who won the silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics another chance. Hunter, the 1999 world champion and husband of sprinter Marion Jones, pulled out of the Olympics on Monday. He injured his left knee during a weightlifting session in August and underwent arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus on September 3. In his place, 1996 Olympic silver medalist John Godina will throw for the United States. Godina, the world champion in 1995 and 1997, originally missed out on a spot on the Olympic shot put team after finishing fourth at the trials in July. Godina already is on the U.S. team for the discus. Now he'll also join Olympic trials winner Adam Nelson and Andy Bloom on the shot put group. Hunter, who didn't immediately realize how serious his injury was, had recently been listed as day to day. He had said he hoped his knee would heal before the September 22 competition. But after consulting with Dr. Tim Taft, he decided to pull out. "Marion and I looked forward to competing together in Sydney, but I am a professional athlete and unfortunately, injuries are part of the game," Hunter, 31, said in a statement released by USA Track & Field. Hunter, who lives in Apex, N.C., was still coming to Australia to support his wife and other U.S. teammates. Jones is trying to win an unprecedented five gold medals at this year's games -- in the 100 and 200 meters, the 400 and 1,600-meter relays, and the long jump. At the 1996 Olympics, Godina became the first American to compete in both the shot put and discus teams since Bud Houser in 1924. He won both events at the USA Championships in 1998, the first time that feat had been accomplished since Parry O'Brien did it in 1955. That year, he also threw a career-best 229 feet, 4 inches in the discus. His shot put best is 72-2 1/4 in 1995. Godina joked that doing both events "keeps me from running out of things to do." The 330-pound Hunter, among the favorites for a shot put gold medal in Sydney, initially continued to compete and train after his injury, thinking he had a recurrence of tendinitis in the knee. During the August 25 Grand Prix meet in Berlin, his pain was so severe he passed on his final two attempts after fouling on three of his previous four tries. Ranked No. 1 in the world last year after winning the world championship with a throw of 71-6, Hunter also was the bronze medalist at the 1997 World Championships. He is a three-time U.S. champion and the 1995 world indoor silver medalist.
He finished seventh at the 1996 Olympics; he and Jones were married two years later.
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