U.S. Olympic Festival Roundup : Tragic Ending to a Successful Meet

The most successful U.S. Olympic Festival in its seven-year history concluded Sunday marred by tragedy.

Festival organizers, who were basking in the limelight of what they called “an outstanding success,” were stunned by the death of Bob Roggy, one of the world’s best javelin throwers, who fell out of a moving pickup truck early Sunday morning.

Attendance records have been set throughout the Festival, the first under its current name after six years as the National Sports Festival. Overall attendance will be “between 340,000 and 350,000,” said Jack Kelly, executive director of the local organizing committee.

Before the events began, Kelly estimated that 350,000 tickets sold would be a break-even mark.

“This was the kind of Festival we hoped and planned for for 2 1/2 years,” Kelly said. “We wanted to conduct a special event, not a series of track and swimming meets. We wanted to demonstrate an ability to hold this event and even a bigger one.”

World record-holder Evelyn Ashford had no trouble winning her specialty, the 100 meters. She surged into the lead at 40 meters and had it clinched halfway through. Her winning time was 11.09 seconds.

Larry Myricks won the long jump at 27 feet, 10 inches. Myricks was the last person to beat Lewis in the event five years ago.

Other track winners were 1984 Olympic champion Benita Fitzgerald-Brown in the women’s 100-meter hurdles; Harvey Glance in the men’s 100 meters; Tonie Campbell in the 110 hurdles as favorite Greg Foster hit the first two hurdles and stopped running and Olympic champion Roger Kingdom finished fifth; Karin Smith in the women’s javelin; and Carol Lewis, Carl’s sister, in the women’s long jump.

Sydney Maree won the men’s 1,500 in a meet record 3:39.05 after he switched from the 5,000 meters at the last minute because another 1,500 runner, Jim McKeon, became ill.

National champion Doug Padilla won the men’s 5,000. Doug Nordquist, the national and Goodwill Games champion, took the high jump at 7-7. Dave Johnson, the 1986 national champion, won the decathlon with 8,124 points. Linda Detlefsen, also a national champion, won the women’s 1,500 meters in 4:10.11 as the first four finishers in the race bettered the meet record.

Kristie Phillips, 14, of Baton Rouge, La., thrilled a sellout crowd of 15,630 at The Summit, adding three gold medals in individual gymnastics to her all-around title.

Phillips won gold medals in the balance beam, vault and floor exercise to outshine teammate Phoebe Mills of Houston, who earned a gold medal in the uneven bars and silvers in vault and floor exercise.

“This is the best balance beam routine I believe I’ve ever done,” Phillips said. “It was a special night because it was my first Festival and the crowd was great.”

Gordy and Marty Morgan of Bloomington, Minn., became the second brother combination to win gold medals in the same year in wrestling. Gordy won the 149.5-pound Greco-Roman division and Marty took the 163-pound title.

The Schultz brothers, Dave at 163 pounds and Mark at 180.5, both won gold medals last year.

Don McSween, a defenseman from Michigan State, scored with 2:27 remaining, lifting the North to a 5-4 victory over the West for the hockey gold medal.

Erich Fischer of Reedley, Calif., had three goals in leading the West to a 10-9 win over the East for the water polo gold medal.

Joe Story of Los Angeles collected six goals in helping the West beat the East, 20-14, for the team handball crown. The South downed the East, 20-16, in overtime for the women’s championship.

The South men rallied to beat the North, 15-11, 9-15, 6-15, 15-2, 15-11, for the men’s volleyball championship.