O’Brien, Jones Stay on Top of the World

After two years away from competition, Dan O’Brien proved he still is the world’s greatest athlete. After two races in the Goodwill Games, Marion Jones proved again she was the world’s best women’s sprinter.

O’Brien, who had not competed in a decathlon since winning the 1996 Olympics, showed no rustiness from an injury-related layoff, winning the two-day, 10-event grind in steamy conditions Monday night with a meet-record 8,755 points, the best in the world this year.

“It was sweet to finish,” the exhausted O’Brien said. “I didn’t know what my fitness level was. I wasn’t competition sharp.”

O’Brien had a world-record pace through nine events and said only a stiff wind and a lack of competition cost him a 9,000-point total.

“But I still proved myself against the best,” he said.

O’Brien, unbeaten since no-heighting in the pole vault at the 1992 Olympic trials, has won 11 consecutive decathlons.

Jones extended her unbeaten record this year to 24 events (the 100, 200 and 400 meters, the 400 relay, the indoor 60 and the long jump) by streaking to victory in the 200 with a meet-record 21.80 seconds. Jones won the 100 in a Goodwill-record 10.90 Sunday night.

Jones said she was motivated by recent trash-talking among the other sprinters.

“I just ignore it,” she said. “It’s a bit vexing. They tried to psyche me out, but it didn’t work.”

Jones blazed around the curve to take the lead and widened her advantage early in the stretch before easing near the finish of the 200. She beat world champion Zhanna Pintusevich of Ukraine by six yards.

The men’s 110 hurdles was much more competitive, as Mark Crear, the 1996 Olympic silver medalist, shook off a false start and won in a Goodwill Games’ record 13.06, beating a field that included Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Allen Johnson (second, 13.10) and Britain’s Colin Jackson, the world record-holder (fourth, 13.17).

NCAA champion Angie Vaughn of Texas rallied over the final two hurdles to win the women’s 100 hurdles in 12.72.

Another Goodwill Games’ record was broken as world record-holder Bernard Barmasai of Kenya won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:14.26. Teammate Moses Kiptanui, the former world record-holder, ruptured his left Achilles on the water jump and was helped off the track.

Ivan Pedroso of Cuba won the long jump at 28-0 1/4 and Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova won the women’s mile in 4:20.39, both the second-best marks in the world this year.

In men’s gymnastics, Blaine Wilson of the United States scored a surprise by finishing third in the all-around, behind Ivan Ivankov of Belarus and Alexei Bondarenko of Russia.

The U.S. men’s basketball team got its first victory, pulling away in the final 7 1/2 minutes to beat China, 91-76. Wally Szczerbiak of Miami (Ohio) had 23 points.

There were also a pair of overtime games: Lithuania squandered a 19-point lead before beating Argentina, 81-77, and Brazil beat Puerto Rico, 96-92.

Russia led all the way in beating Australia, 81-73, despite a game-high 29 points by the losers’ Andrew Gaze.