THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 12 : Track and Field Roundup : Hingsen Fouls Out in First Event of Decathlon

West German decathlete Jurgen Hingsen, the 1984 silver medalist, was out of the competition before it started Wednesday and left the Olympic Stadium in tears.

The former world record-holder had 3 false starts in the 100 meters, the first of 10 events in the 2-day decathlon, and was disqualified.

Hingsen protested, saying that he wasn’t informed that the second false start was against him. When international track and field officials refused to hear his appeal, he withdrew from the remainder of the competition, claiming that it would be impossible for him to contend for a medal after receiving no points in the 100.

Great Britain’s Daley Thompson, attempting to become the first man to win the decathlon 3 times, had the lead through the first 3 events--the 100, the long jump and the shotput, with 2,643 points, 8 points ahead Petri Keskitalo of Finland 2,635 points. World champion Torsten Voss of East Germany was third with 2,600 points.

The leading American through 3 events was Dave Johnson of Covina who was in 16th place with 2,429 points.

“It’s crazy,” Hingsen said. “I didn’t make 3 false starts, no way. I complained to the officials, but they took no notice of me. It was a catastrophe.”

Hingsen, 30, is a 3-time world record-holder, and a silver medalist at the 1983 World Championships, 1984 Olympics and 1986 European Championships.

Hingsen was attempting to recover from an injury that prevented him from finishing in the 1987 World Championships.

“I felt great,” said Hingsen, who is from Duisburg, West Germany, but trains during the winter at Santa Barbara, his wife’s hometown. “It wasn’t a question of beating Daley or anyone else. I wanted to have a great result for myself.

“Now I’ve got to turn to my family for support. You don’t know what it’s like for an athlete to get kicked out.”

West Germany also lost its other medal contender, Siggi Wentz, who injured his leg last month while playing soccer and had to withdraw.

Thompson won the 100 meters and the shotput, and finished second in the long jump.

His time in the 100 meters was the fastest at 10.62 seconds, but his long jump of 24 feet, 7 1/2 inches was second to Christian Plaziat of France, who leaped 25-0 and also sprinted 10.83 in the 100.

Thompson regained the lead after the shot, putting it 49-3 1/2.

The decathlon will be completed Thursday (Wednesday in Los Angeles), with the 110-meter high hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500 meters.

Thompson, the world record-holder, was unbeaten for 9 years before finishing ninth in the 1987 World Championships. His poor showing was attributed to a severe groin injury and he hasn’t completed a decathlon since then, leading to uncertainty about his physical status at Seoul.

Only Thompson and Bob Mathias of the United States, the 1948 and 1952 champion, have won 2 Olympic golds in the decathlon.

In other events, Florence Griffith Joyner just keeps running faster and faster. Wednesday she set an American and Olympic record in the qualifying of the 200 meters, with 21.76 seconds.

She beat her own American record of 21.77, set at the Olympic trials and teammate Valerie Brisco’s Olympic record of 21.81, set at Los Angeles in 1984. So impressive was Joyner’s time in the second of two races, that she even came close to the world record of 21.71.

“I want that world record real bad,” she said. “It was too close for comfort today.”

U.S. sprinter Pam Marshall pulled a hamstring in the first heat and failed to advance. Gwen Torrence from University of Georgia advanced in 22.25.

Merlene Ottey of Jamaica, who trains at UCLA, advanced in 22.30

Jackie Joyner-Kersee qualified for the long jump final on her first jump of 22 feet 10 inches.

Debra Flintoff-King of Australia edged Tatiana Ledovskaya of the Soviet Union to win the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in one of the fastest races of all time.

Flintoff-King’s time of 53.17 seconds broke her won Olympic record set in the qualifying heats. Her time and Ledovskaya’s of 53.18 were the second- and third-fastest in history.

Ellen Fiedler of East Germany took the bronze in 53.63.

Sabine Busch, the world champion from East Germany, was fifth, another disappointment for the powerful East German women.

Latanya Sheffield of El Cajon was 8th in 55.32.

Flintoff-King was third coming off the last hurdle and put on a furious kick to win.

“I didn’t know I was going to win until the end,” she said. “I had to wait until I saw the replay to be sure.”

Americans Sydney Maree and Doug Padilla advanced to the finals of the 5,000. Maree ran a 13:47.85, and Padilla ran 13:58.45.

East German Martina Hellman, the 1983 and 1987 world champion in the women’s discus, led the qualifiers into the final, with a throw of 220 feet 2 inches. Her teammate, Gabriela Reinsch, the world record-holder, had the second-best throw, 219-5, in qualifying. Carol Cady of Stanford was the final qualifier with a 205-9.