THE 1987 PAN AMERICAN GAMES : Men’s 1,500 Meters : Slow Pace Suits Brazil’s Cruz, Who Wins Gold

OK, so maybe the time reminded you of a good high school meet instead of the Olympic Games. Or even the Pan American Games.

But when you watched the Brazilian, in green and gold, sail so smoothly, so effortlessly down the home stretch in the 1,500-meter final Wednesday night, memories of Los Angeles in 1984 came drifting back.

First, the hot lime shoes, with orange trim. The toothpaste smile, the ax-handle shoulders. It’s three years after the Olympics, and nothing has changed. Joaquim Cruz is still burying Americans in the home stretch.

Before a near-capacity crowd of 10,937 at Indiana University Track Stadium in Indianapolis, Americans Jim Spivey and Steve Scott played right into Cruz’s hands. They ran an absurdly slow race--a 66.21 first lap, for example--and Cruz passed first Scott and then Spivey, with five meters left, and won easily in a slow 3:47.34.

The time was almost 20 seconds slower than the world record. As the press box PA man said, after Mexico’s Rafael Martinez brought the pack in at 800 in 2:10.36: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Indiana state high school champion has challenged the winner of this race.”

With 300 meters left, Spivey and Scott were about six yards ahead of Cruz, who was running smoothly. At the head of the stretch, Cruz pulled wide and turned the race into a sprint, just as he had when he won the 800-meter final at the Los Angeles Olympics.

The time bothered him not at all.

“Winning the race is what’s important, and I’m very happy with my performance,” Cruz said afterward.

“It was a slow pace. Before the race, I figured it would be a tactical race, but I didn’t think it would be that slow. I knew it would be a slow race when Spivey took the lead (at 700 meters). At that point, I knew the race would be won in the last 150 to 300 meters, and I’m an 800 runner, so . . . “

So, Cruz is an Olympic champion, a Pan Am champion and could perhaps soon become a world champion, too, when track’s world championships are held in Rome later this month. He’s qualified for the 800 in Rome but needs a 3:37.50 before then to qualify for the 1,500.

After Cruz left the interview tent, the silver medalist, Spivey, said he does not expect a Cruz double in Rome.

“There’ll be a lot of heats in Rome, and Joaquim isn’t 100% yet,” he said. “I look for him to run just the 800 in Rome, but he’s told us he wants to run both in Seoul next year. . . . but he’s also told us he hates the 1,500.”

Spivey said that he and his coaches had purposely decided upon a slow pace.

“My coaches and I agreed that it would be smart to sit back and let the others do the work,” he said. “We knew Scott would be there at the finish, but my coaches told me: ‘Think Joaquim, think Joaquim.’ At 110 (to go), I bit down and hit it hard, but Joaquim was right there. “Yeah, I’m disappointed--but it was a good springboard race for Europe.”

Scott, 31, is 2-4 against Cruz. He’s been a top U.S. 1,500-meter runner since 1976, with a best of 3:31.76, but had to wonder Wednesday night when his luck will change. He ran the 1,500 final in the 1984 Olympics like a man who thought he was running an 800. He started too fast, faded badly, and finished 10th.

“I can’t be happy after that (Wednesday’s) race,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t a worthwhile achievement, finishing third. I have to be realistic--I’m just not race-fit yet. Joaquim ran a fine race. Spivey was in excellent form, but Joaquim ran us both down.”

MEDAL STANDINGS

G S B Tot United States 64 48 46 158 Cuba 45 25 18 88 Canada 10 24 39 73 Argentina 6 4 12 22 Brazil 9 5 7 21 Colombia 1 6 8 15 Venezuela 2 6 7 15 Puerto Rico 2 3 5 10 Mexico 4 3 2 9 Costa Rica 3 2 2 7 Dom. Republic 0 1 4 5 Bahamas 0 2 2 4 Jamaica 1 2 0 3 Panama 0 3 0 3 Ecuador 0 1 2 3 Nicaragua 0 0 3 3 Trinidad 0 1 1 1 Uruguay 0 2 0 2 Suriname 1 0 0 1 Peru 0 1 0 1 U.S. Virgin Is. 0 1 0 1 Bermuda 0 0 1 1 Chile 0 0 1 1 Honduras 0 0 1 1