TRACK AND FIELD WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS : No-Shows and Other Woes Spoil the Show

How can track and field expect to draw crowds when its own world championships can’t draw athletes?

Day 2 of the World Indoor Championships featured no-shows both on and off the track, as officials struggled to persuade the sport’s elite athletes to attend its biennial indoor showcase. Judging by the sparse attendance at the SkyDome Saturday, the public also has yet to be sold on indoor track.

“I won’t call it a Mickey Mouse competition, but some athletes don’t regard the indoor championships very highly,” said Yvonne Murray of Great Britain, who won the 3,000 meters.

Many were entered, few were called to the starting line.

The men’s pole vault was contested Saturday night, but world record-holder Sergei Bubka sent his regrets. The semifinals for the men’s 60-meter hurdles were run, but three-time world champion Greg Foster sent a note from his doctor. Merlene Ottey, who has twice been indoor champion at 200 meters, is reportedly in Los Angeles, suffering from “influenza,” according to the Jamaican delegation.

Some athletes who did come here--sprinter Frank Fredericks, for one--ran one event then pulled out of another. Fredericks foreshadowed his intention to withdraw from the 200 meters after he was defeated Friday night in the 60.

“Really, it means nothing to me,” he acknowledged after that race.

Many athletes had talked of boycotting this event, after the International Amateur Athletic Federation refused to share the wealth of its three-year, $91-million television contract with the European Broadcasting Union.

The athletes, arguing that their star power made the contract possible, demanded prize money at the indoor and outdoor world championships.

“Never,” IAAF president Primo Nebiolo said.

What followed was not so much a boycott but change of travel plans for some athletes.

“I wouldn’t call it a boycott,” said Lynn Jennings of the United States, who was third in the 3,000. “But I think some people began to find that the world championships didn’t fit into their schedules.”

The U.S.track federation sought to lure its stars to the meet with the offer of prize money for medals: $5,000 for gold, $1,500 for silver and $500 for bronze. But the U.S. team, with some exceptions, is populated with college athletes who skipped the NCAA meet, which is being held this weekend at Indianapolis.

The crowd was better than Friday’s crowd of 2,000--about 10,000 braved a snowstorm to get to the meet.

The night’s few highlights came from established stars, which underscored the sport’s reliance on big names.

Jennings chose to attend because, she said, representing her country is an honor. In two weeks, Jennings will travel to Spain to try for a record fourth consecutive world cross-country title.

Murray won the 3,000 in spectacular fashion, bolting to the lead at 1,000 meters and eventually lapping one runner. Her winning time was 8 minutes 50.55 seconds.

Two of the best female high jumpers attended and provided an epic duel. Outdoor world record-holder Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria was slightly better than Olympic champion Heike Henkel of Germany. Both women cleared 6 feet 7 1/2 inches, but Kostadinova won on fewer misses.

In other events, Marcus O’Sullivan of Ireland won his third consecutive indoor title at 1,500 meters in 3:45.00, and the U.S. men won the 4x400 meter relay.

Dan O’Brien, the world record-holder in the decathlon, led the seven-event heptathlon after the first day. After the first day of this rarely contested indoor event, O’Brien is on a world-record pace with 3,800 points.