Burrell Gives Record for 100 a Clean Start With Time of 9.90 : Track and field: He erases Lewis’ record-by-default with victory over Santa Monica teammate at U.S. championships.

One of the track and field record book’s asterisks--Carl Lewis’ world record for a second-place finish at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul--was removed Friday, when Leroy Burrell won the 100 meters at the USA/Mobil Outdoor Championships in 9.90 seconds.

That is the fastest legal time ever, although the prevailing wind of 1.9 meters per second barely was under the limit of 2.0 allowed for record purposes.

And it is still slower than Canadian Ben Johnson’s 9.79 in Seoul and 9.83 in 1987 at the World Championships in Rome that stood as world records until they were expunged after he tested positive for anabolic steroids.

Lewis was runner-up in both of those races, and the 9.92 he ran in Seoul stood as the world record until Friday, when he again was the closest eyewitness to history. He ran 9.93, the third-best legal time ever. Dennis Mitchell was third in 10.00.

But Lewis acted as if this second-place finish was considerably more satisfying. He did not respect Johnson, whom he had suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs for several years before Johnson tested positive in Seoul. Burrell, however, is a training partner in Houston, a Santa Monica Track Club teammate and a close friend.

When Lewis was asked to make a statement over the public address system to a Downing Stadium crowd that was announced as 7,523 but was estimated as closer to 3,000, he said: “I congratulate Leroy. He’s a clean champion.”

The race was not so different from those Johnson-Lewis confrontations. In both Rome and Seoul, Johnson, who was considered one of the fastest sprinters ever out of the blocks, got the jump on Lewis.

Johnson’s reaction time to the gun in Rome, .129 seconds, was the fastest ever recorded until Friday, when Omega timers caught Burrell’s start in .117. Lewis, who was charged with a false start the first time the gun was fired and faced disqualification for another infraction, was tentative the second time, trailing all seven other competitors out of the blocks.

Burrell led the entire race, but Lewis began closing at 50 meters and almost caught him, finishing perhaps a foot behind.

“I didn’t know you were near me until the finish,” Burrell told Lewis.

“I wasn’t,” Lewis said.

Of the two performances, Tom Tellez, who coaches both sprinters, seemed to appreciate Lewis’ more.

“Leroy was great from start to finish, but Carl’s finish was almost unbelievable,” he said. “No one else could have come back from that far behind.”

A Willingboro, N.J., native who moved to Houston, Lewis, 29, recruited Burrell, 24, from Philadelphia several years ago to join him in working with Tellez. Like Lewis, Burrell also is a long jumper and 200-meter runner. Whereas Lewis qualified Friday for today’s long jump final, Burrell chose the 200 as his other event here and also qualified for today’s semifinal.

Burrell, who is blind in his right eye, emerged as a world-class sprinter in 1989, when he won the national championship in a record 9.94.

Lewis had never lost to his teammate until last year, when Burrell was ranked No. 1 in the world. Burrell has won three of their last four meetings.

“Ever since I ran that 9.94, I felt I could be the world record-holder,” he said. “I just felt like it was a matter of time until it happened. Now, when a lifetime dream culminates, you don’t know what to say. You want to sit back and enjoy it.

“It’s like going to the party of all parties. You don’t think anything can improve on it. This has been a great party for me.”

But don’t turn out the lights yet. Both Burrell and Lewis said they are not in peak condition at this time of the year and predicted better times before the World Championships at Tokyo in late August.

“This is just the beginning of a great summer,” Lewis said.

100-Meter Progression

The progression of the men’s 100-meter world record, as recognized by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, track and field’s worldwide governing body.

Time Name Country Date 10.6 Donald Lipponcott United States July 6, 1912 10.4 Charles Paddock United States April 23, 1921 10.3 Percy Williams Canada Aug. 9, 1930 10.2 Jesse Owens United States June 20, 1936 10.1 Willie Williams United States Aug. 3, 1956 10.0 Armin Hary West Germany June 21, 1960 9.9 Jim Hines United States June 20, 1968 9.95* Jim Hines United States Oct. 14, 1968 9.93* Calvin Smith United States July 3, 1983 9.92* Carl Lewis United States Sept. 24, 1988 9.90* Leroy Burrell United States June 14, 1991

* Electronically timed