U.S. Track and Field Trials Notes : Steve Lewis Breaks Junior World Record Again

For the third time this year, Steve Lewis, a UCLA freshman from Fremont, broke the world junior record in the 400 meters, running 44.61 seconds in Sunday’s quarterfinals.

Earlier this year, Lewis, 19, twice ran 44.65.

Eleven men ran under 45 seconds in the four heats, including five in the one that Lewis won. His UCLA teammate, Danny Everett, won the second heat in 44.64. The semifinals of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials here are scheduled for tonight.

“I’m not thinking about the world junior record right now,” Lewis said. “I’m just thinking about making the Olympic team. I’ll think about taking the world junior record down farther in August.”

Asked the secret of Lewis’ success this year, his coach at UCLA, John Smith, said, “Practice.”

UCLA’s Gail Devers-Roberts qualified for Sunday’s final in the 100 meters by finishing fourth in her semifinal heat earlier in the day with a time of 11.24.

But her coach, Bob Kersee, noticed something he didn’t like in her running style and withdrew her from the final.

“Her curveball wasn’t working, so I took her off the mound,” Kersee said.

He said he wants her to concentrate on the 100-meter hurdles competition, which begins Wednesday.

“I just didn’t have her ready for the 100,” he said. “I think it’s because we’ve been working so much on the hurdles. I was afraid she would hurt herself in the 100 and not be ready for the hurdles.”

Greg Foster update: Kersee said Foster, who broke his left arm in two places July 4, has been working out over regulation 42-inch hurdles the last two days at an undisclosed location.

Although Foster is still wearing a full shoulder-to-wrist cast, Kersee said, “He’s improving each day.”

But Kersee said Foster still suffers from considerable pain and may not be at the starting line in the first round of the 110-meter hurdles Friday even if he is fitted with a lighter plastic cast that would allow him to bend his elbow.

“Greg has a high tolerance of pain, but it’s on his mind,” Kersee said. “At this point, we still don’t know. We’ll just have to see how he feels.”

Kersee said they may make a decision Tuesday.

“Both of his doctors have told him he’s crazy to try this,” Kersee said. “The second one told us that he doesn’t want to have to be the one to operate if Greg breaks the arm again.”

After the last operation, Foster has 14 pins and 5 steel plates in the arm.

For the Record: In was reported Sunday that Santa Barbara heptathlete Jane Frederick is 33. She is 36.

The eight-time national champion finished fourth Saturday, barely losing out to USC’s Wendy Brown for a berth on the Olympic team.

Frederick competed in her first multievent competition when she was 13, one year before Brown was born.

Mike Conley of Fayetteville, Ark., finished fourth in the triple jump Saturday but protested because he believed his last jump was mismeasured. He claimed the judges marked the spot where his shorts made an imprint in the sand instead of where his rear end hit.

“That’s the strangest finish to the triple jump I’ve ever seen,” said Willie Banks, who won the competition. “He must wear heavy shorts.”

Conley’s protest was denied Sunday morning, but he did qualify on his last attempt later in the day for tonight’s final in the long jump.

The appeals jury upheld a protest Sunday by Houston’s Essie Washington, who fell after an inadvertent collision with Delissa Walton-Floyd in the semifinals of the 800 meters. Washington got up with 500 meters remaining and finished fifth. She needed to finish fourth or better to advance to tonight’s final.

“We wanted to give every athlete a fair chance to race,” said Terri Crawford, head coach of the U.S. women’s team, explaining that Washington will be the ninth runner in a final that was scheduled to have eight competitors.

Washington has the fastest time in the United States this year in the 800.

“When I saw our best 800 runner go down, my heart sank,” Crawford said.

Bob Kersee insisted in a conversation with reporters Sunday that his wife, who broke the world heptathlon record Saturday and will compete in the long jump next weekend, will enter the 100-meter intermediate hurdles when that competition begins Wednesday.

Not so, said Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

“You know Bobby,” she said. “He rattles a lot. No, we’re not going to do the hurdles.”

Joyner-Kersee is the U.S. co-record-holder in the 100-meter hurdles along with Devers-Roberts.

Asked facetiously by a reporter if she would consider joining the boblsed team that Edwin Moses wants to put together for the 1992 Winter Olympics, Joyner-Kersee laughed.

“You’re almost as bad as Bobby,” she said. “He wants me to do speed skating.”