ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606180026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
Just before he reached the finish line, Carl Lewis peeked to his right. All he got was a glimpse of Jon Drummond's back.
Though Lewis easily passed his first two tests at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Friday evening by advancing to the semifinals of the men's 100 meters, Drummond was the star of the show.
Drummond ran a personal-best 9.99 seconds in the first round of the 100, then again had the fastest time (10.00) in the quarterfinals. He celebrated his second-round victory by pulling off his shirt and flexing his muscular chest for the crowd.
``All I've got to say is that I have two more races tomorrow. I don't want to say too much and jinx myself,'' said the flamboyant and quirky Drummond, who once accidentally ran a world championship race with a comb in his hair. ``I ran well. I ran fast. And I'm happy.''
A local athlete, Travis Walter of Hardy, qualified for the final of the 10,000 meters today. Walter, a former cross country runner at Franklin County High School and Virginia Tech, finished just behind U.S. champion Todd Williams in his heat.
Lewis, trying to become the first American male track and field athlete to make five Olympic teams, was second in his first-round heat in 10.10 and third to Drummond and world-record holder Leroy Burrell in 10.04 in the quarterfinal round. Burrell ran 10.01 in the quarterfinal.
The semifinals and final are today, with the top three making the U.S. team for the Olympics.
``I don't think today was indicative of how things will go tomorrow,'' Lewis said. ``I feel I can run at this level or better on all four rounds.''
Lewis, who won the Olympic 100 in 1984 and 1988 and has eight gold medals, failed to qualify for the 1992 Olympics in the 100.
Gail Devers, the 1992 Olympic champion who has been tormented by injuries this year, had the fastest time of 10.96 seconds in the first two rounds of the women's 100.
Devers won her heat in both the first and second rounds, as did world champion Gwen Torrence. Torrence's best time was 10.99 in the quarterfinals.
``My main goal is to stay healthy,'' said Devers, who has battled calf and hamstring injuries this year. ``I want to get out of here healthy, and to tell you the truth, I feel good.''
Mary Slaney, perhaps the greatest and unluckiest American middle-distance women's runner ever, won her semifinal heat in the 5,000 meters. Though she holds American records at several distances, Slaney, 37, never has finished better than eighth in an Olympic race.
``I feel like I'm starting over again,'' said Slaney, who estimates she's had 18 to 20 operations on her legs. ``Really, I started at minus-ground zero with all the injuries.''
In a measure of just how dominant Jackie Joyner-Kersee is among American heptathletes, the two-time defending Olympic champion easily led the field after Friday's first four events despite a cold and throbbing pain in her left ankle.
Her performance in the heptathlon reflected those problems, falling far below her usual standards, but she led after four events with 3,916 points. The last three events are today.
Her first-day total in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was 4,136 points, and she had 4,264 after the first day en route to a world record at the 1988 Seoul Games. Her best first-day total was 4,367 at the 1988 Olympic trials.
Joyner-Kersee, 34, seeking to make her fourth and final Olympic team, twisted the ankle on her first high-jump attempt and crawled out of the pit in pain.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB