Bad Legs Almost Tripped Up Taylor

Throw another shrimp on the barbie, mate?

Not when U.S. men’s 400-meter hurdles champion Angelo Taylor is sitting at a training table in Sydney this September.

“No more seafood,” said Taylor, who was waylaid by food poisoning two weeks ago, requiring antibiotics and a full week away from the track, not the recommended method for preparing oneself for competition at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

Crab legs were the culprits. “A bad batch,” Taylor said. “I had to take about a week off, rest and get fluids back into me. I lost a lot of weight. Coming here, I had to get my head right and just run like I know I can.”

Taylor, 21, ranked No. 2 in the world in 1999, became one of the youngest members of the 2000 U.S. Olympic track and field team by winning the men’s 400 hurdles final Saturday in a time of 47.62 seconds. World leader Eric Thomas was second at 48.22, followed by James Carter at 48.46.

In a strong final field, Joey Woody, sixth at last year’s world championships, and 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Calvin Davis both failed to qualify. Woody placed fourth with a time of 48.83, Davis sixth with a mark of 49.27.

Taylor called his victory “a big relief. This is a real big surprise for me, looking at the other guys [in the final].

“I felt real good today. I knew I had to take it out fast and try to hold on. I was leading over the eighth hurdle, which is what I wanted to do, and hit the straightaway and brought it on home.”

Thomas, whose 47.94 at Rome last month is the world’s fastest time this year, said, “This was not the exact race I wanted to run, but my goal was to finish among the top three. I’ve been training for this race since ‘96, after I finished fourth in the Olympics. Right now, I have a sigh of relief that I made the team.”

*

A dozen competitors participated in the women’s triple jump final, three received medals but none achieved the Olympic “A” qualifying standard, leaving winner Nicole Gamble--for the moment--as the only triple jumper on the team for Sydney.

In fact, Gamble’s first-place mark of 45 feet 9 3/4 inches was only half an inch better than the Olympic “B” standard of 45-9 1/4. The “A” standard is 46-5.

That leaves second-place finisher Sheila Hudson (45-8 1/2) and third-place Tiombe Hurd (45-7 3/4) on the Olympic bubble. Should two or more of Saturday’s top three finishers achieve the “A” standard by Sept. 11, they would be awarded a team spot, up to a maximum of three. If none of them achieves the “A” standard, Gamble would be the lone representative in Sydney.

Hudson, 10th at the Atlanta Olympics, hasn’t achieved the “A” standard in competition since 1996, although she claimed to have cleared the distance in training last week.

“We all have it in us,” Hudson said. “I got it in practice the other day. From here, I’ll go to Europe and compete as much as possible to get ready and get the ‘A’ standard.”

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Gail Devers led all qualifiers in the women’s 100-meter hurdles preliminary round with a time of 12.57 seconds, only .02 of a second shy of her own U.S. trials record of 12.55, set in 1992.

Melissa Morrison, at 12.83, was the only other hurdler to break 13 seconds. Miesha McKelvy finished in 13 seconds flat, with Anjanette Kirkland next at 13.07.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials

* Where: Sacramento. TV: 7 p.m., Ch. 4 (delayed).

TODAY’S EVENTS

2 p.m.--Women’s pole vault final

3 p.m.--Women’s 100 hurdles semifinals

3:20 p.m.--Men’s 110 hurdles semifinals

3:30 p.m.--Men’s high jump final

3:30 p.m.--Men’s triple jump final

3:40 p.m.--Women’s 200 semifinals

3:45 p.m.--Men’s discus final

4 p.m.--Men’s 200 semifinals

4:48 p.m.--Women’s 800 final

5 p.m.--Men’s 800 final

5:12 p.m.--Women’s 100 hurdles final

5:24 p.m.--Men’s 110 hurdles final

5:36 p.m.--Women’s 200 final

5:48 p.m.--Men’s 200 final

SATURDAY’S FINALS

MEN’S 20K WALK

1. Tim Seaman--1:25:41

2. Kevin Eastler--1:26:38

3. Andrew Hermann--1:28:06

MEN’S 400 HURDLES

1. Angelo Taylor--47.62

2. Eric Thomas--48.22

3. James Carter--48.46

WOMEN’S TRIPLE JUMP

1. Nicole Gamble--45-9 3/4

2. Sheila Hudson--45-8 1/2

3. Tiombe Hurd--45-7 3/4