Mitchell Makes Point in Bad Will 100 : Goodwill Games: Sprinter, saying he was financially under-appreciated, beats Burrell and Lewis.

There is nothing confusing about the selection process for the marquee events in the Goodwill Games’ track and field competition.

If you have a proven reputation, like Carl Lewis, Linford Christie or Leroy Burrell, you receive an invitation wrapped in the currency of your choice. If all you’ve done is win a bronze medal in the Olympics and a couple of more in the World Championships, like Dennis Mitchell, you must earn your plane fare, room and board and perhaps a few rubles for spending money.

Mitchell did, winning the 100 meters in last month’s U.S. championships. Then he revealed his bad will for the Goodwill Games, renouncing his right to his lane as well as all of those rewards.

“I was insulted,” he said.

But when Great Britain’s Christie, the reigning Olympic and world champion, injured a hamstring last week and withdrew, the Goodwill Games’ talent procurers, desperate for another world-class sprinter for one of their main events, called Mitchell and offered him a sweet deal to reconsider. Suddenly, he was no longer insulted that he had been forced to prove himself.

He did, however, believe that he had a larger point to prove. It was evident in his eyes, which he used to stare down the finish line in a pre-race warm-up that entertained the Petrovsky Stadium crowd of about 15,000 almost as much as the race itself, that he intended to do it here Monday.

Mission accomplished. His time of 10.07 seconds, respectable considering the stiff wind of 1.9 meters per second in his face, did not approach the world 100-meter record of 9.85 set two weeks ago by Burrell. But all that mattered was that it was better than the second-place Burrell’s 10.07 and the third-place Jon Drummond’s 10.12, and it allowed Mitchell, in all modesty, to respond positively to a question at the post-race news conference about whether he is the world’s best sprinter.

“I want to live up to the tradition of a cocky sprinter and say I am,” said Mitchell, who trains in Westwood with Coach John Smith.

And what of the man who can claim to be the best of all time?

Lewis, running his second 100 of the summer, was never a factor, finishing fourth in 10.23. He then announced that he probably will not fulfill his commitment to compete in today’s long jump against world record-holder Mike Powell.

“I’m not sure how I would respond going back to back like that against world-record holders,” Lewis said.

It was not a stirring afternoon for living legends.

Pole vaulter Sergei Bubka of the Ukraine, who holds the world record for setting track and field world records, was irritated by a swirling wind and cleared only one height, 18 feet 8 1/4 inches, as he finished third. Russians Igor Trandenkov and Maxim Tarasov were one-two at 19-4 1/4 and 19-0 1/2.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who has not lost a heptathlon that she has completed since 1984, fell behind after three events before rallying in the fourth, the 200 meters, to take a 109-point lead over Russia’s Larisa Turchinskaya into today’s final three events.

In another close race, Russia’s 42-year-old Ekaterina Podkopyeva ran the 1,500 meters in 4:04.92 to edge Ireland’s 25-year-old Sonia O’Sullivan, who finished in 4:04.97.

But the award for perseverance belongs to Gwen Torrence. After beating Russia’s Irina Privalova in the 100 Sunday, Torrence was confident of completing the double in Monday’s 200. But, for some unexplained reason, she did not hear the starter’s instructions, never got into her set position and allowed Privalova a sizable head start.

“I had to roll out of the blocks,” Torrence said. “I was a few meters behind Privalova and thought about giving up. But I thought about all the people who had come to see me run. I made up my mind to run like hell.”

That she did, winning in a fast 22.09. Privalova was second in 22.33.

While Torrence was on the victory stand to receive her gold medal, Mitchell interrupted his pre-race act long enough to salute her. That was the only time his attention was diverted from the task at hand.

After two false starts in the men’s 100, none of the male sprinters got out of the blocks well except Mitchell. And 45 yards into the race, the only one with even a chance to challenge him was Burrell.

“I came hard with about 60 meters to go and almost pulled it out,” Burrell said. “But that’s neither here nor there. Dennis beat me to 100 meters.”

Mitchell’s coach, Smith, was not surprised.

“Leroy came over to Europe and ran one race that every other sprinter in the world would like to have run,” Smith said. “But it was just one race. Dennis has been more consistent. He’s the hot sprinter right now, and when he’s in a streak like this, who knows what he might do?”

It was a fun day for Smith and Mitchell. But before they left to celebrate, the sprinter wanted everyone to know he had another reason for winning besides proving he could. He said he had dedicated his race to refugees from Rwanda.