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Moving forward Jones easily qualifies for 200-meter semifinals
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- It was a quick night of work for Marion Jones, who continued her quest for five gold medals by reaching the semifinals of the 200 and advancing to the long jump final on her first qualifying jump. Jones strolled into the semifinals of the women's 200, finishing second in her second-round heat and conserving energy for the qualifying round in the long jump later in the evening. She needed little of that energy, automatically qualifying with a leap of 22 feet, 3 inches (6.78 meters) on her first attempt. Jones slowed near the end of her 200-meter heat and was caught by Australian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor -- much to the delight of the Olympic Stadium crowd. Jones finished in 22.50, a hundredth of a second behind Gainsford-Taylor. "I let up a bit too much. But, gosh, that was the easiest 22.50 I ever raced," Jones said. Jones captured gold in the 100 meters last weekend but since then has been engulfed in controversy surrounding husband C.J. Hunter's positive drug tests. Jones said her quest for five gold medals at the Sydney Games was now the only thing on her mind. "It's all about races now," she said.
Joining Jones in Thursday's 200-meter semifinals were U.S. teammates Nanceen Perry and Torri Edwards. Also advancing was 400-meter gold medalist Cathy Freeman. With an injured Gail Devers suddenly reduced to the role of spectator, a hurdler who missed the last Olympics on a drug ban captured the one medal Devers truly craved. Jones' medal hunt now is imperiled by injuries to two of her teammates on the U.S. 400-meter relay squad. Devers and Inger Miller both have hamstring problems and are questionable for the relay. Olga Shishigina of Kazakstan won the 100-meter hurdles Wednesday in 12.65 seconds. Gloria Alozie of Nigeria won the silver and Melissa Morrison of the United States won the bronze. Shishigina missed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics while serving a two-year drug ban. She was suspended for four years in May 1996 for testing positive for stanozolol, the same steroid that cost Ben Johnson a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Games. Her ban later was cut to two years. Alozie's fiance was killed when hit by a car in Sydney a few days before the games opened. He had been training with the Nigerian team before the Olympics. American Angelo Taylor, an Atlanta resident who graduated from Southwest DeKalb High School, won gold in the men's 400-meter hurdles and Germany's Nils Schumann held off Wilson Kipketer at the finish line of the 800 meters to win that race. In women's events, Russia's Irina Privalova won the 400-meter hurdles and Ellina Zvereva of Belarus won the discus. Defending champion Nourredine Morceli of Algeria stopped on the final straight of a men's 1,500-meter semifinal after he was spiked by another competitor. Morceli, who was in the middle of a pack just behind the leaders, stopped immediately and looked down at his right leg. Then he walked across the finish line in disgust, spitting on the ground. Morceli was competing in his last Olympics. He said he was spiked and pushed and could not recover. "Over the last 100 meters I lost my balance and rhythm, and everyone passed me. And there was nothing I could do," he said, showing a large gash on his leg. "I am disappointed, but it happened to El Guerrouj in Atlanta, it just happened to Gail Devers." In 1996, Morceli won the Olympic medal after getting tangled up with Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco on the final lap. El Guerrouj, who holds the world record and has not been beaten in the 1,500 since the end of 1997, moved into Friday's final by winning his semifinal heat in 3 minutes, 37.60 seconds. Also advancing in the 1,500 was American Jason Pyrah. But Stanford teammates Gabe Jennings and Michael Stember failed to reach the final. In the men's 200, Americans Floyd Heard, Coby Miller and John Capel all advanced to the semifinals. So did Ato Boldon, who is favored in the race because injuries kept 100-meter champion Maurice Greene and 400-meter champion Michael Johnson from qualifying in the 200. U.S. decathlete Chris Huffins had 4,554 points to lead after five events. Dean Macey was eight points behind, and Erki Nool was third. American Tom Pappas was fourth with 4,476 points after the first day of the two-day competition. American pole vaulters Lawrence Johnson and Nick Hysong advanced to the final. But 1988 Olympic champion Sergei Bubka and defending champion Jean Galfione were eliminated in the qualifying round. There was more drug news from the track Wednesday. World record-holder and world champion Mihaela Melinte of Romania was escorted away by officials when she tried to compete in the women's hammer throw, two days after Romanian officials were informed she had failed a pre-games drug test. This is the first Olympics for the women hammer throwers, and the first time anyone could recall seeing an Olympic athlete removed from the field because of a drug test result. In the women's 400-meter hurdles, Privalova won in 53.02 seconds. Deon Hemmings of Jamaica won the silver Nouzha Bidouane of Morocco the bronze. In the men's 800, Schumann won in 1 minute, 45.08 seconds. Kipketer got the silver and Aissa Djabir Said-Guerni of Algeria won the bronze. Zvereva won the women's discus with a throw of 224 feet, 5 inches (68.40 meters). Anastasia Kelesidou of Greece won the silver and Irina Yatchenko of Belarus won the bronze. Marla Runyan, an American runner who is legally blind, advanced out of the qualifying round of the women's 1,500 meters. Former University of Wisconsin star Suzy Favor Hamilton also advanced top the semifinals. Runyan, who has an incurable retina condition called Stargardt's Disease that has reduced the middle of her eyesight, qualified by placing seventh in her heat in 4 minutes, 10.83 seconds. Favor Hamilton, who also had to overcome major
obstacles to
reach Sydney, won her heat in 4:08.08. She had
Achilles' tendon
surgery last year and also had to deal with the suicide
of her
brother. To remember him, she has resumed using
her maiden name --
Favor -- in competition.
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