Reporting of Kenyans Runs Into Confusion

Larry Stewart wrote on Monday (Sept. 26) about the blown call by announcers Charlie Jones and Frank Shorter during the Olympic 800-meter final.

Unwittingly, Randy Harvey, in an article right above Stewart’s article, indicates that the mistake was an easy one to make. Harvey blew the call, too, and he had the luxury of not having to describe the race while it was being run.

Both Jones/Shorter and Harvey saw the race as having a “single” Kenyan runner on or near the lead fade only to rebound in the stretch to win. The only difference is that Jones/Shorter identified the “single” Kenyan runner as Nixon Kiprotich (the actual front-runner) while Harvey identified him as Paul Ereng (the actual winner who trailed most of the race).

Apparently, it was easy to miss Ereng passing Kiprotich as all eyes focused on Joaquim Cruz, Said Aouita and Peter Elliott as they entered the stretch. Will there be an article on Harvey’s blown call, or will he simply apologize to Kiprotich for not identifying him as an early leader?

STEVE MAGER

Hermosa Beach