Panetta Makes It Memorable Day in Rome : Italian Wins Steeplechase; Evangelisti Takes the Bronze in Long Jump

After two days of thunderstorms, the sun was back out in Rome Saturday. So were the Italian track and field fans, about 68,000 of them filling the Olympic Stadium to capacity in anticipation of another gold medal for the home team.

They were rewarded with that and more when Italy won twice as many medals as the United States on the next-to-last day of the World Championships.

The only American medalist Saturday was Carl Lewis, who had four legal jumps of better than 28 feet, including a best of 28-5 1/2, for his second world championship in the long jump.

The Italians fans would become intensely involved in that competition later. But first things first.

As expected, Francesco Panetta, who lives in Milan, won the 3,000-meter steeplechase. His mission became considerably easier when the only man to challenge him early in the race, Kenya’s Joshuah Kipkemboi, stumbled over a barrier with about four laps remaining and could not continue.

Panetta has been at the center of controversy since the championships began nine days ago. Having entered two events, he originally was scheduled to run the 10,000-meter final last Monday night and to begin qualifying in the steeplechase about 24 hours later.

But when the heats in the 10,000 meters were canceled, the final was rescheduled for the opening night of the championships. Then, after Panetta finished second in the 10,000, the first heat in the steeplechase was canceled, delaying the start of that competition for two days.

Instead of running five times in eight days, Panetta ran only three times and had four days’ rest between the 10,000 and the start of the steeplechase.

There were charges by officials of various countries, including the United States, that the organizers from the International Amateur Athletic Federation were arranging the schedule to benefit Panetta. The IAAF president is an Italian, Primo Nebiolo.

IAAF officials have denied the allegations, saying they canceled heats in the 10,000 and the steeplechase because there were fewer competitors than expected.

If Italian fans were aware of the charges, they did not let it inhibit their enthusiasm for Panetta’s victory. He won in 8:08.57 to East German Hagen Melzer’s second-place 8:10.32. One American, Brian Diemer, was fourth in 8:14.46, while the other, Henry Marsh, was sixth in 8:17.78.

As Panetta ran a victory lap, stopping along the way to kiss Gabriella Dorio, the Italian winner of the 1,500 meters in the 1984 Olympics, and then his girlfriend, Carmen Russo, the crowd waved flags, sang and chanted, “Italia, Italia.”

It started over again during the victory ceremony, to which he brought a stuffed toy wolf, the mascot of these championships.

Who should present Panetta with his gold medal but Primo Nebiolo?

Panetta’s victory inspired the fans for the long jump competition, which was routine through the first five rounds. Lewis did as much as he needed with a 28-5 1/2 on his first jump, then equaled it on his third jump. The Soviet Union’s Robert Emmiyan went 28-0 on his fourth jump for second place. American Larry Myricks was in third place with a 27-4 on his fifth jump.

But then Giovanni Evangelisti, an Italian from Rimini who won the bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics, moved into third place with a 27-6 effort on his sixth and final jump.

Presented with the unexpected opportunity to win another medal, the crowd turned on the other competitors, jeering as they began their approaches. None of the three who still had chances to overtake Evangelisti came close.

Evangelisti, of course, said he did not mind, pointing out that the other long jumpers should have learned from Swiss shotputter Werner Guenthor. Competing on the first day against Italian Alessandro Andrei, Guenthor received the same mistreatment from the fans. But he said he was inspired by it and won the gold medal.

“It was a (soccer)-type atmosphere, and the spectators wanted to see me win,” Evangelisti said. “It should have stimulated the other competitors to get better results.”

Lewis described the scene as “rather bizarre,” before adding: “But I’m not the person to ask about it because I won the gold medal at the Olympic Games and was booed.”

Also rather bizarre was the pole vault, which the Soviet Union’s Sergei Bubka won easily as the only man to clear 19-2. Three men cleared 19-0, but France’s Thierry Vigneron was awarded second and the Soviet Union’s Rodion Gataulin third on fewer misses. American Earl Bell tied for fifth after clearing 18-8.

Bubka then requested that the bar be raised to 19-10, one inch above his world record. But after several minutes of intense concentration, just as he was about to begin his approach, he and everybody else in the stadium were jarred by “The William Tell Overture.”

That is the signal that a victory ceremony is about to begin. As the crowd jeered, Bubka dropped his pole in disgust and sat down.

He remained in that position until he realized that the national anthem being played over the public address system was his own. It was for women’s shotput champion Natalia Lisovskaya. Bubka quickly jumped to attention.

But his concentration was broken. When the competition resumed, he twice missed badly at the world-record height and retired for the night.

“I just didn’t have the emotional feeling for a world record,” he said. “I’ll try to beat the world record in another competition.”

Besides the gold medals won by Bubka and Lisovskaya, the Soviets won another when Tatiana Samolenko finished first in the women’s 1,500 in 3:58.56. Already the 3,000-meter champion, she became the third double gold medalist in the championships. The others also are women--East Germany’s Silke Gladisch in the 100 and 200 meters and the United States’ Jackie Joyner-Kersee in the heptathlon and long jump.

East Germany won another gold medal Saturday, when Hartwig Gauder finished first in the 50-kilometer walk.

That gave the East Germans 9 gold medals and 28 medals overall, only two fewer than they won last year in the European championships. The Soviet Union has 20 medals, 7 golds. The United States has 14 medals, 6 golds.

The United States should add to its total today in the four relays. The U.S. men had the best qualifying time in the 1,600-meter relay and the second best in the 400, while the U.S. women had the best qualifying time in the 400 and the second best in the 1,600.

But the United States will not approach its medal total in the first World Championships four years ago at Helsinki, where it won 24 medals.

Track and Field Notes

Only one American, Tom McCants, qualified for today’s high jump final. Sixteen jumpers cleared 7-5. But when officials tried to force them into a jump-off, hoping to cut the field to 12, the first 11 jumpers missed on purpose, running under the bar. The officials finally gave up and took 16 jumpers to the finals. . . No American women qualified for today’s javelin final.

Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion, has announced his engagement to Florence Griffith, the 200-meter runner-up here. Speaking of Griffith, the full-length bodysuit, including headgear, she wore in the heats here was popular with the men, too. Three of the four Americans in the first heat of the 400-meter relay Saturday morning were in similar attire.

The Great Britain men’s 400 relay team didn’t survive the first round. Disturbed by former Olympic champion Allan Wells’ decision not to enter the relay, a teammate, Mike McFarlane picked a fight with him last week. . . . The East German men’s 1,600-meter relay team didn’t qualify for the finals when its second runner, Frank Moeller, dropped the baton. The East Germans were favored for a medal, with 400 meter champion Thomas Schoenlebe running the anchor leg.