Johnson survives trial scare

Athens gold medal favourite Allen Johnson just scraped into the USA team at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento.

The Atlanta 1996 gold medallist and four-time world champion, who is the world number one this year with a time of 13.05 seconds, had cruised through his qualifying heats but struggled in the final to keep pace with Terrence Trammell and Duane Ross after hitting an early hurdle.

Trammell, silver medallist in Sydney four years ago and at the world championships in Paris last year, set a personal best 13.09secs, with Ross running a season’s best 13.21 to hold off Johnson (13.25), who made his third Olympics at the expense of Ron Bramlett (13.33).

Johnson said: “I haven’t been injured, I haven’t not been hurdling, I’m going to Athens and this is my third Olympic team.

“I honestly don’t know which hurdle I hit, probably the second or third one. I regrouped and ran the best I could.”

Hometown heroine Stacy Dragila confirmed her spot in the team by winning the pole vault final with a stadium and Trials record of 4.75 metres.

Dragila made an attempt to win back the world record she lost to Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva, which was then beaten by her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova with a 4.88m vault on July 4.

Dragila just failed at 4.89m but said: “I was feeling that good today (to attempt a world record).

“I wanted to see if I had it in my bag of goods but then the wind started shifting. I gave it a good shot. I’m going to go home, iron a few things out and go after those Russians.”

In the women’s 100m hurdles, 37-year-old Gail Devers equalled a record four Trials victories in 12.55secs into a 1.6 metres-per-second headwind.

It was her 10th US title, but she was just two-thousandths-of-second ahead Joanna Hayes, who had qualified fastest in the semi-finals in 12.50, equalling Devers’ second-fastest time in the world this year. Melissa Morrison (12.61) completed the line-up for Athens.

While Devers is going to her fifth Olympic Games, 18-year-old Allyson Felix is on the way to her first as the youngest member of the US track and field team.

The teenager, who turned professional straight from high school, won the women’s 200m final in a season’s best 22.28secs into a 1.2mps headwind.

She held off Muna Lee, who claimed second from the inside lane in a personal best 22.36, while early leader Torri Edwards held on for third in 22.39.

Edwards, who also qualified for the 100m team, will today face a hearing into her positive test for the stimulant nikethamide, which she insists was taken inadvertently as an ingredient in a glucose tablet at meet on the island of Martinique in May.

If she is given the expected two-year ban then fourth-placed LaShaunte’a Moore stands in line to take her place.

“It’s been a tough week,” Edwards said. “I wanted to come out and prove to everyone that I haven’t done performance-enhancing drugs. It was a mistake on my part.

“I’m going to do (at the hearing) what I’ve been doing for the past two months, tell the truth.

“I’m celebrating because I’ve worked hard this year and I’ve earned this.”

In the men’s 200m final, Shawn Crawford and Justin Gatlin won the right to double up in Athens by finishing first and second.

Crawford (19.99secs) and Gatlin (20.01), running into a 0.7mps headwind, were third and second respectively behind 100m winner Maurice Greene last Sunday.

Bernard Williams (20.30secs) claimed third spot just holding off the challenge of Paris silver medallist Darvis Patton (20.32secs) to make the team.

Alan Webb confirmed his status as an Athens medal contender by storming to victory in the men’s 1500m.

The 21-year-old, a world leader in the mile this year, ran from the front and burst away from the field after 600m to win in three minutes 36.13 seconds beating Charlie Gruber (3:38.45) and Rob Myers (3:38.93).

The women’s 1500m saw three athletes without the necessary A standard qualifying time fill the first three places.

Carrie Tollefson won on the line in 4:08.32 ahead of Jen Toomey (4:08.43) and Amy Rudolph (4:08.57).

Suzy Favor Hamilton, the only competitor with the A standard, withdrew after advancing from Friday's semi-final while 5,000m qualifier Marla Runyan pulled up after 600m due to fatigue.