Embarrassed Johnson Almost Fails to Qualify

Very nearly, it was Michael Johnson’s biggest mistake since agreeing to that 150-meter match-race fiasco with Donovan Bailey.

Needing to finish only in the top three in his second-round 400-meter heat Sunday to qualify for the semifinals, Johnson shifted down gears so dramatically toward the finish that he allowed himself to be caught and passed for third place by an unknown runner from Senegal named Ibrahima Wade.

Johnson placed fourth in his heat at 45.39 seconds, costing him his automatic entry into the semifinals and requiring him to sweat out the remaining two heats to see if he could qualify on time. Along with the top three in each group, the next four best times qualify for the semifinals.

Johnson just snuck in, placing 15th out of 16 qualifiers. His time was a mere 0.02 seconds better than the 16th finisher, Tomasz Czubak of Poland (45.41).

By that much, the author of the get-swift-quick advice manual “Slaying The Dragon” avoided being slain by his own sword.

“I was sure I had a firm grip on my position,” said an embarrassed Johnson, who spent his last 30 meters winding down and looking around.

“I just didn’t see him. It surprised me that he was suddenly beside me.”

Antonio Pettigrew, the reigning U.S. champion at 400 meters in lieu of an injured Johnson at last month’s nationals, had the best qualifying time at 44.88. A third American, Tyree Washington, also reached the semifinals with a time of 45.09.

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A back-and-forth hammer-throw final went down to the last attempt, taken by Heinz Weis of Germany, and his heave of 268 feet 4 inches was just enough hold off Andrey Skvaruk of the Ukraine.

Skvaruk had just wrested the lead from Weis with a sixth throw of 267-3, resulting in much raucous--and premature--celebration by the Ukrainian team.

Weis, fifth at the 1996 Olympics, rallied to win by taking “high risks and still retaining a perfect throw. That is the secret of my victory.”

Skvaruk, who had to settle for the silver medal, nevertheless called the final “the most interesting competition of my career so far.”

Defending Olympic champion Balazs Kiss of Hungary failed to win a medal, placing fourth at 262-4.