Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 16, 1993 TAG: 9308160083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STUTTGART, GERMANY LENGTH: Medium
It was the 100-meter final at the World Championships on Sunday night, and the 33-year-old Briton, the 1992 Olympic champion, capitalized on the magic moment with the greatest performance of his life - winning in 9.87 seconds.
With the second-fastest time in history, Christie beat a stunning array of sprint talent as three runners bested the 10-second mark.
The field included Carl Lewis, the three-time world champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder at 9.86; the silver and bronze medalists at the '92 Games, Frank Fredericks of Namibia and Dennis Mitchell of the United States; the previous 1993 world leaders, American Andre Cason and Nigeria's Daniel Effiong; and 1993 world indoor 60-meter champion Bruny Surin of Canada.
Christie earned the title of "World's Fastest Human" at the Barcelona Olympics and confirmed it with a powerful performance that left his rivals gasping.
"I'm just so happy," Christie said with a broad smile. "It's the happiest day of my life.
"Everybody was here. Nobody was missing. Barcelona was something big; today was just as special. It's nice to beat everybody. I showed I'm the best."
Cason, who had run the two fastest times of his life (9.96 and 9.94) in qualifying heats, was better this time in 9.92. Mitchell, the only one to beat Christie out of the blocks, finished third in 9.99 despite a recent leg injury.
Lewis, who was at the back of the field with 30 meters remaining, rallied to finish fourth in 10.02. But the 32-year-old's failure to medal ended his streak of success in world championship and Olympic competition. In 18 previous events in those two major tests for track and field athletes, he had collected an unparalleled 16 golds and two silvers.
"It's been a bad year for me," Lewis said after congratulating Christie. "I just haven't been concentrating like I should - and it showed. I did not run well."
Following the top four came Surin in 10.02, a Canadian record; Fredericks in 10.03; and Effiong in 10.04.
In other finals, Germany's Heike Drechsler, the 1983 world champion in the women's long jump, regained the title, leaping 23 feet, 4 inches, and China's Zhihong Huang repeated as women's shot-put champion, throwing 67-6, the farthest in the world this year.
Also, Junko Asari became the first Japanese woman to win a gold in the championships, taking the marathon in 2:30:03; Olympic gold medalist Andrey Abduvaliyev of Tajikistan won the men's hammer throw at 267-10; and Valentin Massana led a 1-3-4 Spanish finish in the men's 20-kilometer walk, clocking 1:22:31.
by CNB