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Fighting back Estonia's Nool takes gold after controversy
SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Estonia's Erki Nool survived a controversy which would have cost him a medal of any color to snatch the Sydney Games decathlon title on Thursday. American Chris Huffins, meanwhile, saw his hopes of gold vanish in the final metres of the final event after leading throughout the competition. The 30-year-old Nool, reinstated in the discus after his three throws were originally all ruled fouls, ran a magnificent final 1,500 metres to take the title, timing four minutes 29.48 seconds and crossing the line almost 10 seconds ahead of Huffins. Nool scored 8,641 points, with Czech Roman Sebrle taking the silver (8,606) ahead of Huffins (8,595). It was Nool's first medal at Olympic or world championship level. It was ruled that he had not stepped out of the discus circle as at first though. Dean Macey of Britain, a former lifeguard who astounded the sport with a shock silver at the 1999 worlds, just missed out on the medals despite a fine final run, ending with 28 points less than Huffins. Double world champion and world record holder Tomas Dvorak, meanwhile, chasing his first Olympic title, finished sixth overall. Dan O'Brien of the United States, the 1996 Olympic champion and Games record holder with 8,824 points, missed Sydney with a foot injury.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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