Lewis, Joyner-Kersee Need to Get Back on Right Track

If anything, the king and queen of track and field in the United States for the last decade--even longer in his case--sounded defiant Saturday night as they analyzed their losses. But neither had shown that same spunk in the competition, leaving 21,597 spectators on the second day of the U.S. Olympic trials to wonder whether they had witnessed the end of the Carl Lewis and Jackie Joyner-Kersee era.

In retrospect, it should not have been astonishing that Lewis failed to finish among the top three and make the U.S. team in the 100 meters. He didn’t make it in that event in 1992, either, and showed little in the next three years to make anyone believe that ’96 would be different.

It would have been remarkable last year at this time to think that he would make the finals in the trials. That changed this summer, when he suddenly began resembling the sprinter who won the gold medal in 1984 and ’88. He said that he was back, reprimanded those who had written him off and made believers again out of many of the sport’s observers.

Then he finished eighth Saturday night. To be sure, his competition was first-rate. Dennis Mitchell, a bronze medalist in the 1992 Olympics and the world championships of ’91 and ‘93, won in 9.92 seconds, equaling the world’s best this year. Michael Marsh, the ’92 gold medalist in the 200, was second in 10.0, and Jon Drummond, ranked first in the United States last year, was third in 10.01. Jeff Williams, bronze medalist in last year’s world championships, was fourth in 10.06, probably earning a position on the U.S. 400-meter relay team in the July 19-Aug. 4 Summer Olympics here.

“I’m Barcelona-bound, baby!” Mitchell yelled to the crowd, apparently forgetting in his excitement that the Olympics this summer are back in Atlanta.

But for the first time in a final in a major meet, Lewis, who will turn 35 on July 1, looked like he didn’t belong. With his legs cramping after three rounds within 24 hours in Atlanta’s heat and humidity, his time was 10.21. The seventh-place finisher, Tim Montgomery, was almost a tenth of a second faster in 10.12.

As for Joyner-Kersee, she made the U.S. team in the heptathlon but staggered to the finish line in the seventh and final event, the 800 meters, and lost by three points to Kelly Blair. It was the first time since Joyner-Kersee’s second-place finish in the 1984 Olympics that she did not win a heptathlon that she finished.

In what has become a track and field trivia question, Australia’s Glynnis Nunn beat Joyner-Kersee by five points in ’84. Blair, 25, the former NCAA champion from Oregon, might some day avoid such anonymity. She was 10th in the world last year. But she had no business beating Joyner-Kersee this year, unless the two-time Olympic and two-time world champion is finally flamed out at age 34.

It certainly appeared as if she was in the 800. Losing all but 116 points of her lead in the javelin throw, historically Joyner-Kersee’s foil, she still needed only to finish within eight seconds of Blair to win. Joyner-Kersee couldn’t do it, finishing 8.57 seconds behind. When the points were totaled, Blair had 6,406 to Joyner-Kersee’s 6,403. Sharon Hanson, who is from Ventura, finished third with 6,352.

Those were not the only events inside the Centennial Olympic Stadium Saturday, merely the most compelling ones.

The local fans were rewarded when one of their own, world champion Gwen Torrence, won the women’s 100 in 10.82, the world’s best time this year. The defending Olympic champion, Gail Devers, was happy to make the team after struggling for the last two years with hamstring injuries, finishing second in 10.91. NCAA champion D’Andre Hill of Louisiana State was third in 10.92. The leading candidate for the fourth place on the U.S. women’s sprint relay team in the Olympics is Inger Miller, who was fourth in 10.96.

Besides Joyner-Kersee and Devers, another ’92 gold medalist who finished second was triple jumper Mike Conley. He finished behind 1993 world champion Kenny Harrison. An Olympic champion who was not so fortunate, however, was Kevin Young, who set the world record in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with his victory in Barcelona but could manage no better than fifth place in his semifinal heat here. He did not advance to the final.

In an interesting but otherwise insignificant footnote, Michael Johnson did not win his first-round heat in the open 400. He has won 52 consecutive finals and had not lost in a round since 1993 but finished second to Anthuan Maybank, who ran a quick 44.77. Obea Moore, a high school junior from Pasadena, finished sixth in that heat in 45.48 but moved on to the second round. Michael Granville of Bell Gardens came close to advancing out of the second round in the 800 but missed by seven-hundredths of a second.

As the track world was saying hello to Moore and Granville, was it saying goodbye to Lewis and Joyner-Kersee? They think not, both trying to spin their performances as positively as they could. It was easier to do in Lewis’ case because less was expected of him.

“We can make a big issue of it,” he said, referring to his eighth-place finish. “Or we can just say I cramped. I cramped.”

He said that he will prove that age hasn’t caught up to him this week in the long jump and 200 meters, still vowing to make his fifth Olympic team.

Joyner-Kersee made her fourth Olympic team in the heptathlon--she will try to make her third in the long jump--but her coach and husband, Bob Kersee, said that he does not want her to return to Atlanta next month in the heptathlon unless she is ready to score higher than she did in the trials.

“I can’t come to the Olympic Games and perform at this level,” she said. “I can’t do it. I’ve worked too hard this year. I believe in my heart I’m still the best in the world.”

We will see soon enough.

Olympic Coverage

* MIKE DOWNEY: Carl Lewis says this is definitely the end in the 100, but don’t count him out yet in the 200 or long jump. C3

* REPORT: The U.S. women’s basketball team got a rare scare but defeated Russia, 80-79. C10

* OLYMPIC SCENE: Top women gymnasts may try to advance without competing in trials. C10