Athletes gather for American Olympic dream
The most powerful nation in world athletics tonight began its search for a team to take on the best of the rest at the Athens Olympics next month.
The United States Olympic trials got under way in Sacramento, California, with more than 1,000 competitors dreaming of booking their ticket to Athens between now and July 18 and a place on their nation’s squad for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad.
The system of selecting the first three home in each event to the team - provided they have met Olympic qualifying standards – gives the event enough drama without the over-bearing distraction of the BALCO doping scandal.
Six elite athletes, including 100 metres world record holder Tim Montgomery, went into trials facing doping charges and possible lifetime bans as a result of evidence presented to a federal investigation into the distribution of banned, performance-enhancing drugs, including designer steroid THG (tetrahydrogestrinone)
Montgomery is not in the best form as he begins his quest to reach Athens tomorrow night in the men’s 100 metres quarter-finals.
Montgomery’s best this season has been 10.08, ceding psychological advantage to six compatriots who will join him on the blocks for tomorrow’s quarter-finals.
Montgomery’s arch rival Maurice Greene is one of the main contenders for tomorrow’s final, having run a wind-assisted 9.78 in Stanford, California, in May and a wind-legal 9.93 behind Shawn Crawford’s world-leading 9.88 last month in Oregon.
Marion Jones – Montgomery’s partner also under investigation from the US Anti-Doping Agency, although she has not been charged – was expected to reach tomorrow’s women’s 100m semi-finals but the leading US time heading into tonight’s heats, 10.97, belonged to 20-year-old Lauryn Williams.
Jones’ best this year was 11.04 and also in the shake-up for the final should be the 1999 world silver medallist Inger Miller (11.05), two-time Olympic 100 gold medallist Gail Devers (11.05) and Torri Edwards, who ran second to Kelli White in the world championship 100 final last year but was promoted to the gold medal following White’s subsequent disqualification for a doping offence.
The strength in depth of these fields emphasises why many athletes’ perception of the US Olympic trials is as being more competitive than anything they will face in Athens.
That is certainly the case in the men’s shot put, which will also be decided tomorrow.
Of the top 20 throws in the world this year, 17 have been made by four Americans, Christian Cantwell, John Godina, Adam Nelson and Reese Hoffa.
One of those will be staying at home while his team-mates head for Athens, which makes this week’s shot put, like so many others in Sacramento, a do-or-die affair.
Nelson, silver medallist at Sydney, will have been speaking for so many preparing for the coming days, when he said: “When you have five of the top 10 performers in the world in your event coming from the same country that makes the Olympic trials a very difficult event.
“It makes it really exciting and just as competitive as the Olympics themselves. You have to get ready to go there in peak condition.”
