Johnson Leads a U.S. Charge to Medal Stand

A two-day medal drought for U.S. athletes at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships ended Thursday when three men reached the medal stand--and several compatriots are poised to follow.

Allen Johnson avenged his fourth-place finish in the Sydney Olympics by winning the 110-meter hurdles in 13.04 seconds, the world’s fastest time this year. Pole vaulter Nick Hysong didn’t equal his Sydney gold-medal finish but won bronze before a crowd of 33,140 at Commonwealth Stadium.

And in a spectacular finish to the men’s 200, Shawn Crawford shared the bronze with Kim Collins of Saint Kitts & Nevis. Olympic champion Konstadinos Kederis of Greece broke from the pack to win in 20.04 seconds, with silver medalist Christopher Williams of Jamaica, Crawford, Collins timed in 20.20 seconds.

“I didn’t know I was going to be third. I thought I was finishing like fourth or fifth,” Crawford said. “Michael Johnson, watch out. I’ll be looking for you. Your [world] record will be mine!”

Marion Jones, Kelli White and LaTasha Jenkins advanced to the women’s 200 final today. In addition, Anjanette Kirkland, two-time world champion Gail Devers, rising star Jenny Adams and Donica Merriman advanced to the semifinals of the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

Johnson, the 1995 and 1997 world champion, edged Olympic gold medalist Anier Garcia of Cuba to win the fourth gold medal by a U.S. athlete.

“I felt like I really, really had something to prove,” Johnson said. “This [victory] is by far the best.”

Jones sailed through her semifinal to win in 22.40 seconds after easing up the last 50 meters. Although Jones, Jenkins (22.63 seconds) and White (22.54) advanced, defending world 200 champion Inger Miller did not. Miller, who was timed in 22.82 seconds, was injured most of this season.

“It’s frustrating, but I’m not going to cry about it,” she said.

Jones, past the disappointment of losing her world title in the 100 Monday, can add her first world 200 title to the 200 gold she won at Sydney.

“One [gold medal] escaped me so far in these games,” she said. “I’m going to do my darndest not to let this one slip through my fingers.”

Adams (12.80 seconds), Kirkland (a season-best 12.69 seconds) and Devers (12.72) won their respective hurdles heats. Merriman was third in her heat in 12.88 seconds.

Kirkland, who needs intensive treatments on her sore neck and back, shook off the effects of a fracas with her former coach, John Smith, at the U.S. championships. Kirkland, her mother and her sister allege they suffered physical and emotional trauma and have filed a $1-million civil suit against Smith and the HSI group.

“I can’t let anything personal interfere with my performance on the track,” Kirkland said. “Track is my first love, and it’s my joy. I can’t let anything take my joy.”

Devers, 34, hasn’t trained much this year because of the torn hamstring that forced her to drop out of the Sydney 100-meter hurdle semifinals. A three-time world champion in the event, she couldn’t train until May and didn’t work with coach Bob Kersee until a week ago.

“Getting to the finals and getting to the finish line healthy means the world to me,” she said.

The pole vault was won by Dmitry Markov, a Russian competing for Australia. He cleared 19 feet, 10 1/4 inches, a height surpassed only by world record holder Sergei Bubka. Another former Russian, Aleksandr Averbukh, won a silver competing for Israel by clearing 19-2 1/2. Hysong cleared the same height but had more misses.

“If I keep improving things could be pretty big by the end,” Hysong said.

A competitor tested positive for the banned hormone EPO, but track and field’s international governing body would not identify the athlete except to say he’s not well known.

Istvan Gyulai, general secretary of the International Assn. of Athletics Federations, said the athlete is not Russia’s Olga Yegorova, who tested positive for traces of EPO at a meet in Paris last month and won commutation of her suspension because the tests were mishandled.

A test done here on Yegorova was among a group that had unusually high concentrations of red blood cells, which could indicate the use of endurance-boosting EPO. Secondary testing cleared all but one of those athletes.

Canadian sprinter Venolyn Clarke and Brazilian 800-meter runner Fabiane dos Santos were expelled this week because of positive drug tests at previous meets.

Paul McMullen was the lone U.S. competitor to advance to the men’s 1500 semifinals. . . . U.S. discus champion Seilala Sua advanced to Saturday’s discus final. . . . Hazel Clark qualified for the quarterfinals of the women’s 800 meters. . . . Yegorova and Gabriela Szabo ran an uneventful heat in the 5000 and advanced to the finals.

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Today’s Finals

* Women’s triple jump, 7 p.m.

* Women’s 800-meter wheelchair, 7:30 p.m.

* Men’s 1,500-meter wheelchair, 7:45 p.m.;

* Men’s 400-meter hurdles,

8 p.m.

* Women’s 200 meters,

8:30 p.m.

* Men’s 5,000 meters,

9:30 p.m.

Other highlights

* Women’s 100-meter hurdles semifinals, 6:30 p.m.

* Women’s 800-meter semifinals, 7 p.m.

* Men’s 1,500 semifinals,

8:45 p.m.