Blatnick Comeback on Hold; Anderson Wins 6 Golds

Jeff Blatnick’s comeback was detoured at least temporarily Thursday when he lost in the first round of the Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the U.S. Olympic Festival.

Blatnick, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist from Schenectady, N.Y., who has won two falls against Hodgkin’s disease, lymphatic cancer, lost, 4-7, 0-3, to Morris Johnson of San Francisco in the super-heavyweight division.

The winners in each classification here earn berths on the U.S. team in the Pan American Games Aug. 8-23 at Indianapolis.

Blatnick, third-ranked in the United States before this tournament after wrestling only eight times since the 1984 Olympics, said he will decide whether to continue in the sport after a training camp next week in Pensacola, Fla.

In the 125 1/2-pound division, Gagik Barseghian, an Armenian immigrant who lives in Montrose, was undefeated in a mini-tournament, winning all three of his matches, but won’t advance into championship competition because he is not an American citizen.

Swimmer Sarah Anderson of Moreno Valley, Calif., became the first athlete in Festival history to win six gold medals in one year when she took the 400-meter freestyle in 4:17.00 and anchored the North A team to victory in the 400-meter medley relay in 4:19.72.

Anderson, 17, had already won golds in the 200 and 800 freestyles and 400 and 800 freestyle relays.

Two other swimmers--Jeff Olsen in 1985 and Cynthia (Sippy) Woodhead in 1979--each won six events but were denied a sixth gold medal because they swam in a non-Olympic event.