TRACK AND FIELD / U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS : Dan and Dave Are Together on TV, but They Will Not Meet in Oregon

Just when it seemed possible that consumers would be allowed to forget Dan and Dave, the dueling decathletes began appearing on television again earlier this month in a nationwide advertising campaign for a truck rental company.

Unfortunately for track and field followers, the only place the two can be seen together is in commercials.

Because he has been unable to train for the 10-event competition while recovering from surgery last October for a stress fracture in his foot, Dave Johnson will not resume his rivalry with Dan O’Brien when the USA/Mobil Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field begin today with the decathlon and heptathlon.

The five-day meet, the only one in the United States this year that requires the presence of all the country’s able-bodied, world-class track and field athletes, will be used to determine the team for the World Championships in August at Stuttgart, Germany.

Even Johnson, unable to compete in his specialty, will try to earn a berth on the team in the javelin throw.

“His foot is probably 100% right now, but he hasn’t had enough time to get in competitive shape for the decathlon,” said Terry Franson, who coaches Johnson at Azusa Pacific.

“It was a very slow process coming back. We still think he could go out there and make the team, but the risk is too great. We’re looking at (the 1996 Summer Olympics) as our long-range goal. We’ll treat this as an off-year.

“His body needs a rest. His mind needs a rest.”

Johnson and O’Brien have not competed against each other since last summer’s U.S. Olympic trials, where O’Brien failed to clear a height in the pole vault.

While O’Brien watched from a perch reserved for television commentators, Johnson finished third in the Summer Olympics, a courageous performance considering that he competed with a stress fracture in his foot. Then, while Johnson prepared for surgery, O’Brien set the decathlon world record of 8,891 points in a post-Olympic competition in France.

Even without Johnson to push him, O’Brien said earlier this year that he believed he could break 9,000 points in this meet.

But he has revised his projections after a series of setbacks, including groin and hip injuries suffered during his world-record performance in the heptathlon at the indoor world championships in March, the extraction of his wisdom teeth and a prostate infection.

Because of the infection, O’Brien has not worked out for nearly two weeks. He said he still believes he can score 8,600 points, but his coach, Mike Keller, said that a score between 8,200 and 8,300 is more realistic. That should be enough to guarantee O’Brien a place in the field at Stuttgart.