Lewis and Christie Overshadowed by Cason’s 9.96

The men’s 100-meter final today in track and field’s fourth World Championships at Gottlieb Daimler Stadium will not be a match race between world record-holder Carl Lewis of the United States and reigning Olympic champion Linford Christie of Great Britain, two of the other sprinters warned Saturday.

Andre Cason, the 1993 U.S. champion, did it on the track during the first two rounds. He had the fastest time in both, including a 9.96-second clocking in the second round that was the best in the world this year and his best ever.

Another American, 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Dennis Mitchell, did it off the track. His second-round time of 10.08 was only the fifth-fastest, just ahead of Lewis’ 10.11, but Mitchell promised he would have whatever it takes to win today.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to turn it on,” he said. “They’re going to have to run 9.9 low to beat me, and I don’t plan on getting beat. A 9.9 low or a 9.8, I’m going to take it to them.”

Cason was nonchalant about his time in the second round.

“It felt like any ordinary run,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to blaze the track.”

Lewis, the 100-meter winner in the three previous World Championships, confined his remarks to, “I’m ready to run.”

Not ready in the first round was Frederick Canon, a 16-year-old sprinter from Nauru in the Fiji Islands, who lined up against Lewis barefooted.

Canon forgot to bring his shoes to the track, but, nevertheless, had a faster reaction time to the gun than Lewis. The other 99 meters of Canon’s race were not so impressive, however, as he finished in 11.72, more than 1 1/2 seconds behind Lewis.