World Heptathlon Leader Flops

Shades of Dan O’Brien?

DeDee Nathan, the world heptathlon leader, didn’t think the same fate that befell O’Brien in the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials would happen to her after failing to clear a height Thursday in the high jump in the USA Outdoor Championships in track and field.

“I’m not worried,” Nathan said after three misses at 5 feet 7 1/4 inches. “I’ll finish [the two-day, seven-event competition] and be in the top three.”

That’s far from where O’Brien finished seven years ago, when he went in as the favorite in the decathlon, failed to clear a height in the pole vault, wound up 11th and did not make the American team.

The national championships are the qualifier for the world championships at Seville, Spain, in August, with the top three finishers in each event making the team--provided they have met the qualifying standard.

That probably will work in Nathan’s favor, even if she doesn’t finish in the top three after today’s final three heptathlon events. That’s because she is one of only of two Americans--Shelia Burrell is the other--who have met the qualifying standard of 6,000 points, and the current top three aren’t expected to reach that mark.

In that case, Nathan would be added to the team. She registered a career-best 6,577 points at Gotzis, Austria, on May 30.

“I’m optimistic,” the smiling, confident Nathan said after her surprising failure. “I’m not discouraged.”

The high jump was the second event of the heptathlon competition. Nathan opened with the fastest time in the 100-meter hurdles, 13.23 seconds, worth 1,090 points.

She quickly went from first place to last with her high jump woes. The leader with 1,899 points was Tiffany Lott-Hogan, the 1997 and 1998 NCAA champion from Brigham Young.

The shot put and 200 meters were the remaining events for the heptathletes Thursday. They will finish with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters today.

Nathan, who has cleared 6-1 in the high jump, was puzzled by her failure at 5-7 1/4.

“I have no clue what happened,” she said after passing at the first seven heights. “I was lethargic for some reason. My bounce wasn’t on.”

Nathan, the 1999 world indoor pentathlon champion, was favored to win her first outdoor championship.

“I’ve never been big on titles,” she said. “I wasn’t concerned about getting the U.S. title. Not when you’re a world champion.”