Gold
medal quest begins
USATF
8 March 2001 – Lisbon, Portugal - Some of Team USA's strongest gold-medal medal threats will take to the track and field Friday at Lisbon's Atlantic Pavilion, competing in the first day of the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Women's pole vaulter Stacy Dragila, men's shot putters Adam Nelson and John Godina, and men's 60-meter hurdler Terrence Trammell all have finals in their respective events on Friday. Dragila, Nelson and Trammell lead the world in their events and are the favorites entering competition.
Trammell, the Olympic silver medalist, has the three best times in the world this year in the hurdles and leads the field by a healthy margin, his time of 7.47 seconds far ahead of South Africa's Shaun Bownes' 7.52. American Tony Dees, with a best time of 7.52, is also a medal threat. All three rounds of the hurdles are on Friday.
Stacy Dragila has been equally dominant as Trammell in the women's pole vault, setting four world records during the indoor season. She has a best of 4.70m, Svetlana Feafanova is the next-best vaulter at 4.66m, and American Kellie Suttle is #3 at 4.56m. The world is expecting a two-woman battle between Dragila, the reigning Olympic and outdoor World Champion, and Feofanova, who has made a huge breakthrough this season.
Olympic gold medallist Adam Nelson has two of the world's three best marks in the shot put, his 21.40m throw at the Pontiac Grand Prix Indoor Track & Field Championships leading Janus Robberts of South Africa by 4 centimetres. Godina, a two-time World Indoor silver medallist and bronze medallist at the 2000 Olympic Games, is seventh-best in the world entering the meet and also will vie for gold.
Anjanette Kirkland, the third-best hurdler in the world this season, and Bisa Grant will compete for Team USA in the women's 60m hurdle heats and final on Friday, with field event finals in the women's triple jump and high jump.
Amy Acuff is currently the sixth-best high jumper in the world with her 1.96m mark from the Millrose Games, but at Millrose she defeated world-leading Kajsa Bergvist of Sweden. Tiombe Hurd competes for the United States Friday in the triple jump.
Also beginning competition in the rounds of their events on Friday are LaTasha Jenkins and Kelli White in the women's 200, Kevin Little and Shawn Crawford in the men's 200, Suziann Reid and Monique Hennagan in the women's 400, James Davis and Milton Campbell in the 400, Jearl Miles-Clark and Jen Toomey in the women's 800, Trinity Gray and Elliott Gaskins in the men's 800, and Seneca Lassiter and Jason Lunn in the men's 1,500. First-round heats in the men's and women's 3000 are also scheduled, but the event is expected to be a finals-only race on Saturday.
Competing for Team USA is medal contender Regina Jacobs and Cheri Kenah on the women's side and Tim Broe and Brad Hauser in the men's race.
Little and Crawford are the two fastest 200m runners competing in Lisbon, with world-leading Coby Miller out with a broken fibula. Davis, winner of the last two U.S. indoor titles, also is in a strong position for gold or silver in his event. World-leading Andrew Pierce, whom Davis defeated at the Pontiac Grand Prix USA Championships, is not competing in Lisbon, leaving Great Britain's Daniel Caines as the only man with a faster time than Davis this year.
Jenkins is the third-fastest woman in 200 this season and Jacobs is #4 in the world in the women's 3000.
