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Pan Am Games Tuesday Roundup
Posted: Wednesday August 04, 1999 12:58 AM
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- For the first time since 1955, United States swimmers failed to get at least one medal in an individual event at the Pan American Games. That was assured earlier in Tuesday when Jarod Schroeder of Morrison, Ill., and Sabir Muhammad of Atlanta failed to qualify for the final of the men's 100-meter butterfly. The focal point of the games, however, once again was on drugs. Juana Rosario Arrendel of the Dominican Republic, winner of the women's high jump, was stripped of her medal for failing a drug test. Organizers also said another athlete's A test had come back positive, but no action will be taken and the name will not be released unless the B sample turns out to be positive. But a physician from the Cuban delegation traveled to Montreal to examine the urine samples. While rumors swirled that the athlete is four-time Pan Ams high jump champion and world record-holder Javier Sotomayor, Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez Cambra journeyed to the testing facility in Montreal, sources close to the Cuban team said. The sources, who asked not to be identified, would not say if Sotomayor is the athlete -- or if it is even a Cuban. But, the sources emphasized, a key medical officer of the delegation would not be sent on such an assignment if the drug test did not involve a leading Cuban athlete. The U.S. failures in the butterfly typified the Americans' lack of success in the pool so far. For the second straight day, the U.S. team won only one gold in five events, in the men's 800 freestyle relay. Canada collected three golds for the second day in a row and Venezuela got the other gold. "What you saw this morning were two guys who didn't have the best swims of their lives," Muhammad, the American record-holder in the 50 and 100 short-course butterfly events, said. "Basically we were out there doing our best to go fast and it didn't happen. "I was shocked. It was the worst dive I've ever had in a swim race. I went four meters on my dive, straight down. Usually my dive is shallower than that. That was just a fluke. The rest of the swim I was just trying to catch up." Schroeder was just as disconsolate. "It was very disappointing," he said. "To put in all the work that we did . . . "We'll have to make some adjustments before next year [for the Olympics]. I felt good in warmups and I felt good all week. It just didn't happen. "I was slow out of the blocks. I think I was the last into the water. I tried to force the issue. I wasn't very efficient on my stroke." Schroeder was 11th overall in the prelims at 55.89, Muhammad was 17th at 57.20. Only the top eight qualify for the final. The last time the Americans failed to win a medal in an individual event was 1955, when they finished sixth and eighth in the men's 200 backstroke. The only other time they missed in an individual event was in 1951 in the men's 1,500 freestyle, when they were fourth and sixth. In 1991, the men's 400 relay team failed to medal when it was disqualified. The team of Adam Messner, Dan Phillips, Devin Howard and Scott Tucker gave the Americans their lone gold Tuesday night. Tucker, with a gutty anchor leg, held off Brazil's Gustavo Borges as the U.S. team posted a time of 7 minutes, 22.29 seconds. Otherwise, the Americans won two silvers and two bronzes. Annemieke McReynolds of Wildwood, Ga., and Katie Yevak of Emporia, Kan., gave the U.S. a 2-3 finish in the women's 200 breaststroke behind Canada's Lauren Van Oosten, who led all the way. Eric Donnelly of Sarasota, Fla., who set a career-best in winning his preliminary heat in the men's 400 individual medley, bettered that with 4:17.86 in the final, but it wasn't good enough to beat Canada's Curtis Myden. Myden, Canada's swimmer of the year from 1994-97, cut more than three seconds off the Pan Ams record and more than a half-second off his national record in winning at 4:15.52. Talor Bendel of Fort Mitchell, Ky., got the other U.S. medal, finishing third in the women's 200 freestyle behind Jessica Deglau of Canada and Janella Atkinson of Jamaica. Bendel led through the first 150 meters before yielding ground in the final 50 meters. "I knew I would have to go out fast to stay up with the rest of the field, then have a good last half," Bendel said. "It just wasn't there. I got tired." Francisco Sanchez gave Venezuela its first gold ever in the 100 butterfly with a games record of 53.33.
Danielle Henderson of Commack, N.Y., pitched her second perfect
game of the softball competition, beating the Bahamas 12-0 in five
innings. He fanned 13 of 15 batters.
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