OLYMPIC REPORT 44 DAYS TO THE GAMES : Top Beach Volleyball Women’s Team Falls

The top-seeded women’s team of Lisa Arce and Karolyn Kirby was upset Tuesday at the opening session of the U.S. Olympic Beach Volleyball Trials at Baltimore.

On the men’s side, top-seeded Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes and second-seeded Adam Johnson and Randy Stoklos advanced to today’s quarterfinals.

The double elimination trials will qualify two of three U.S. entries in both men’s and women’s play for next month’s Atlanta games.

The other U.S. teams--Sinjin Smith and Carl Henkel for the men, Nancy Reno and Holly McPeak for the women--have already qualified based on their performance in this year’s international tour.

Arce and Kirby were beaten, 17-16, in their opening match by Janice Harrar and Gayle Stammer.

Following the upset stayed alive with a 15-8 victory over Krista Blomquist and Wendy Fletcher. They need three wins today to advance to the final four.

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Rain washed away the first day of the Olympic track cycling trials at Trexlertown, Pa.

Officials scheduled the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the men’s 4,000-meter pursuit for today.

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Kenyan Olympic officials told their Danish counterparts that world 800-meter champion Wilson Kipketer cannot run for any country other than Kenya at the Atlanta Olympics.

Tom O’Omuombo, secretary general of the Kenya Olympic Committee, said the unanimous decision of the KOC’s executive board was based on a Kenyan Justice Ministry decision that since Kipketer will not obtain Danish citizenship until 1998, he is barred from representing any nation other than Kenya.

Kipketer, who has lived in Denmark since 1990, has appealed to represent that country.