Reynolds Uses Anger to Fuel 400 Victory

It was another small measure of revenge and redemption for two men who missed glory at Barcelona.

Butch Reynolds, the world 400-meter record-holder who missed the Olympic team after a protracted legal battle with the International Amateur Athletic Federation, won his second 400 in three days Sunday at the Mobil 1 Invitational in Fairfax, Va., finishing in a meet-record 45.89 seconds.

“It’s more enjoyable to let my anger (at the IAAF) show on the track rather than through the press or to people,” Reynolds said. “Every victory is extra sweet.”

Algeria’s Noureddine Morceli, whose 1,500 gold medal hopes fell victim to a tactical blunder, easily won the mile, but failed to break Eamonn Coghlan’s 10-year-old indoor record, finishing in 3:55.61.

Coghlan made an unsuccessful bid for his two-day old Master’s mile mark, running 4:07.25 two days after setting the record with 4:05.95 at the Millrose Games. Decathlon world record-holder Dan O’Brien, who failed to make the U.S. Olympic team when he no-heighted in the pole vault, won an unusual two-day pentathlon that was split between this meet and Friday’s Millrose Games in New York.