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Friday, August 27, 2004 - Page updated at 12:03 A.M.
Blaine Newnham / Times associate editor
ATHENS — The same passion for sport that drove the Greeks to complete four years of facility-building in four months, to start and revive the Olympics in the first place, disgraced them last night at the Olympic Stadium. Upset that their own champion from Sydney had been expelled for evading a drug test earlier in the Games, they booed and whistled to hold up the race. With the possible consequence of altering the outcome, it was not very Olympian. It was darn right boorish and embarrassing. For one thing, it took away from one of America's great days in track and field, a sweep in the men's 200 meters and a surprising one-two finish in the long jump by Dwight Phillips and John Moffitt. Not since the 1904 St. Louis Games, when almost everyone in the Olympics was from America, has the United States swept both the 200 and 400 meters as it has now done in Athens.
It added up to eight of the nine medals in the sprint events going to America. With two more in the long jump, the U.S. track and field medal total stands at 18, two less than Sydney with four relay races left, not to mention Breaux Greer as the leading qualifier in the javelin, Toby Stevenson a legitimate threat to win the pole vault and Marion Jones in the long jump. The crowd grew restless before the start of the 200 meters, chants of "Hellas, Hellas" making you wonder if a Greek were in the race. Instead, it became increasingly obvious that it was about the Greek who wasn't in the race, Olympic champion Konstantinos Kenteris. The noise continued as officials tried to get the runners into the blocks. "Kenteris" chants were mixed with those of "Hellas." Whistling and boos greeted the introduction of the three Americans in the race.
"They are not too friendly," said German sprinter Tobias Unger after the race. "They are angry Kenteris is out, but what can the U.S. guys do with that?" The start of the race was delayed seven minutes. At one point, with the runners in their blocks, officials aborted the start because of the noise. Then there was a false start. "I don't know why it happened," said Williams, "but I do know it was a lot more noise than I've ever had in a race." The Americans were prepared for the disruption, which apparently had been talked about in some of the Greek newspapers. "We were forewarned by our coach," Crawford said. "The noise didn't disrupt anything. But I'm glad we kept our composure and did what we came to do." What were the Greeks thinking? They weren't. "I could understand their frustration," Crawford said. "We are at the birthplace of the Olympics and the defending champion in the 200 meters is Greek." Admittedly, last night's final of the 200 meters was the hottest ticket at the Olympics outside the opening and closing ceremonies. The Greeks had snapped them up early; they wanted to see their man run. They'd apparently worked themselves up over a conspiracy theory to oust Kenteris. There were also reports in the Greek newspapers that the Americans, British and Australians had threatened to withdraw from the Games if Kenteris were allowed to compete. What anti-American sentiment there was seemed to center solely on the 200 meters. The crowd had cheered loudly for Phillips' win in the long jump, blue and white Greek flags waving along side American flags as Phillips and Moffitt took a victory lap. And once the 200 began, the crowd cheered like it had any other race. There were few boos during the victory lap by the three Americans, especially with the Americans on their best behavior. Williams, the winner of the silver medal, had been involved in the embarrassing antics after the U.S. 400-meter relay team had won in Sydney. "They saw that we weren't acting like idiots," Gatlin said. "They saw that we were gracious, and then there was love." It didn't hurt that Gatlin waved a flag that was both Greek and American, stitched together by an athlete who was both Greek and American. Williams wore an olive wreath on his head that later slipped down around his neck during the victory lap. In Sydney, he wore an American flag on his head. "I made a lot of people angry in 2000," he said. "I learned from my mistakes. I had another chance to do it the right way, and that's a blessing." Trying to become the first 100-200 gold-medal winner since Carl Lewis in 1984, Gatlin simply ran out of gas. He said he had never run eight races in a week before.
"I'm not disappointed at all," he said. "I'm 22 years old, I've got two Olympic medals and I hope to get a third in the relay." It wasn't surprising that Phillips won the long jump — he'd been ranked No. 1 — but it was surprising that Moffitt, who was third in the U.S. trials, would garner the silver medal. Phillips got his winning jump of 28 feet, 2-¼ inches on his second effort. Moffitt, 24, waited until his fifth jump when he flew 27-9-½ to pass Joan Lino Martinez of Spain and James Beckford of Jamaica. The mark was 7 inches farther than he had ever jumped before. "U.S. jumpers are back," said Moffitt. So were U.S. sprinters. The Greeks? You only hope they can learn from their mistakes like the American sprinters did. Blaine Newnham: 206-464-2364 or bnewnham@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
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