PAN AMERICAN GAMES : TRACK AND FIELD : Sotomayor Wins but Sets the Wrong Record

The most anticipated head-to-head matchup in the track and field portion of the Pan American Games fizzled Saturday, but Cuban fans were at least treated to a Pan American Games record.

Javier Sotomayor, the world record-holder in the high jump, broke his own Pan Am record with a winning jump of 7 feet 8 1/2 inches. His former record, set in 1987, was 7-7 1/4--the height cleared by two men who, it was hoped, would inject some pizazz into a lackluster week of track and field. However, neither Troy Kemp of the Bahamas nor Hollis Conway of Lafayette, La., could go higher than 7-7 1/4. Kemp, who attends Idaho State, won the silver medal based on fewer misses.

The men’s high jump was the attraction of the entire eight-day track competition here, pitting Sotomayor, whose world record is 8-0, against Conway, the 1988 Olympic silver medalist and the 1991 World Indoor Champion.

In addition, Sotomayor had the highest jump in the world this year, 7-10 1/2, until Charles Austin equaled that when he broke Conway’s American record last Wednesday.

Saturday’s event was still compelling, if somewhat lacking in suspense.

Give credit to Conway and Kemp, both of whom jumped against Austin in Zurich Wednesday night and traveled several time zones to arrive here Friday afternoon. It was a refreshing effort to get to a competition where most of the best in the world stayed away.

Conway seemed puzzled with questions whose general drift was: “Why are you here?”

“I like competition,” Conway said. As it developed, the competition might not have been worth the effort. No one could blame heat as a debilitating factor. The event was showcased in the late afternoon, while only two other field events were taking place.

Conway and Kemp did say the track surface was too slippery because of its newness. In fact, after Conway took a few warm-up jumps, he borrowed longer spikes from another competitor.

The only other glitch was the behavior of the crowd. When non-Cubans jumped, especially Conway, the fans whistled and jeered with such noise that it clearly distracted the athletes.

On his last attempt at 7-8 1/2, Conway ran up and abruptly stopped. It is something, he said, that he almost never does.

“I let the crowd get to me,” he said. “I was running up and thinking about the crowd, not the jump. I think I was a little afraid.”

Sotomayor chose to skirt questions about the crowd, but he did say that their derision was not directed at Americans, but to all his opponents. He also said that such jeering was common at track meets, although he could not remember it happening to him.

Conway and Sotomayor entered the competition at 7-3 3/4, Marino Drake at 7-5. Sotomayor was the first to miss, once at 7-6, then Drake missed once at the next height, 7-7 1/4. Conway and Kemp cleared on their first attempt and Sotomayor passed. Everyone but Sotomayor went out at 7-8 1/4 and the Cuban cleared on his second attempt.

The stadium buzzed with speculation after Sotomayor had the competition won--how high would he ask the bar to be set? His jumping had not engendered confidence that any huge increase would be met with success. Because he is Cuban and jumping in Havana, Sotomayor had the officials set the bar at 2.45 meters, or 8-0 1/2, one-half inch higher than his world record. It was predictable, as Sotomayor had previously stated he intended to go after both the Pan American and world records on Saturday.

It was immediately clear, however, that he would not be able to make anything other than a token attempt to break the record. His three attempts were weak and he never came close to getting even his hips over the bar.

If the crowd felt let down, it didn’t show. Sotomayor was hailed as a hero by the fans and Fidel Castro awarded the gold medal.

Sotomayor’s effort was not poor, only disappointing. He had surgery on his left knee and heel last season and still considers himself on the comeback path to the 1992 Olympics.

However, while the other elite high jumpers of the world have prepared all season for the World Track Championships, to be held later this month at Tokyo, Sotomayor said this competition was his goal.

“For me, the most important thing was to win the gold medal for my people in the Pan American Games,” he said through an interpreter. “That is why I am here.”

Sotomayor acknowledged that under similar circumstances, he would not have attempted a world record. “I did it because I was in Havana,” he said.

His popularity might be based on that loyalty to his fans. And make no mistake, Sotomayor is popular and he knows it.

Asked which medal he cherished more, his gold or the silver earned by his wife, Maria del Carmen Garcia, in the women’s high jump last Sunday, Sotomayor stabbed a bony finger into his chest and said: “My gold, of course.”