ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
THE SPRINTER SHATTERS the world record in the 200 meters, winning in 19.66 seconds to gain his second berth in the Olympics.
No wind could save the oldest existing record in track and field this time. Michael Johnson simply blew it away.
Johnson obliterated the world record in the men's 200 meters, winning in 19.66 seconds Sunday at the U.S. track and field trials.
While Johnson will try to become the first man to win the 200 and 400 in an Olympics this summer, Gwen Torrence's hopes for a double at the Atlanta Games ended suddenly Sunday.
Torrence fell one one-thousandth of a second short of qualifying in the women's 200, finishing fourth in a photo finish. She won the 100 last weekend.
The previous mark in the men's 200 was 19.72, set by Italy's Pietro Mennea in 1979 in the thin air of Mexico City.
``Lining up, the crowd was going wild. It was a great feeling and I wanted to make sure I gave them their money's worth,'' Johnson said. ``Today was the perfect race.''
Johnson ran 19.70 in the semifinals Saturday, but a tailwind of 2.7 meters per second - over the allowable limit of 2.0 - prevented it from being recognized as a world record.
On Sunday, the wind registered 1.7 meters per second. And there was no doubt about the outcome, with Johnson getting a great start and leading throughout.
Johnson didn't even look at the wind meter. He knew from the crowd's reaction the record was broken.
Johnson, who has won 21 straight finals at 200 meters, raised his arms when he saw the time. Then he posed for photographers at the timer showing his 19.66 clocking.
``My coach told me to go win, that everything might come together one day,'' Johnson said. ``Today was it.''
Jeff Williams was second in 20.02 and 1992 Olympic champ Mike Marsh was third in 20.04. Carl Lewis finished fifth in 20.20, failing to make the Olympic team in that event.
Lewis already had become the first American man to make his fifth Olympic team earlier in the week when he finished third in the long jump. He failed to qualify in the 100, finishing last in the final of that event.
``I'm going to leave here with my head up. I feel very good about the Olympics next month,'' Lewis said. ``I'm almost 35 and I ran more races here than anyone.''
Lewis, an eight-time gold medalist, also may be named to the 400-meter relay team by U.S. coaches.
In other finals Sunday:
Allen Johnson came within one-hundredth of a second of the world record and tied the American record in winning the men's 110-meter hurdles in 12.92 seconds.
Two-time world champion Gail Devers won the women's 100-meter hurdles in 12.62. She earlier made the U.S. team in the 100 meters.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who earlier had qualified in the heptathlon, won the women's long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 11/4 inches despite hamstring and quadriceps injuries. Joyner-Kersee was the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist in the long jump.
Paul McMullen won the men's 1,500, in which prerace favorite Steve Holman finished 13th.
Regina Jacobs won the women's 1,500, Charles Austin took the men's high jump and Connie Price-Smith won the women's shot put.
Torrence's left thigh has been bothering her the past week, but she refused to blame her fourth-place finish on the injury.
``I gave it all I had,'' she said. ``It just wasn't enough today. I'm disappointed. I'm not hurt, I just ran fourth. I can't moan about it, I can't gripe about it.''
Torrence, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 200 and a five-time national champion at that distance, already had qualified in the 100 by winning that event last Saturday at the trials.
``It would have been tough to take if I hadn't won the 100,'' she said. ``I think I would have wanted to crawl up and die.''
Carlette Guidry won the 200 final in 22.14 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. Dannette Young was second in 22.18 and Inger Miller and Torrence finished in 22.25. After judges studied the finish-line photo for several minutes, Miller was awarded third place.
Broken down to thousandths of seconds, Miller's time was 22.247 and Torrence's was 22.248.
``I'm not going to hold my head down about anything,'' Torrence said. ``Regardless of what my competitors say about me, I know they're just jumping for joy that I'm not in the 200, but it's OK. It is OK. I am going to be OK.''
In the men's hurdles, Allen Johnson equaled the American record held by Roger Kingdom and barely missed the world mark of 12.91 by Britain's Colin Jackson. Johnson is the reigning world champion, and will face Jackson at the Olympics.
Mark Crear was second in 13.05 and Eugene Swift was third in 13.21 to join Johnson on the U.S. Olympic team. Kingdom, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, finished fifth in 13.34.
Jack Pierce, who ran 12.94 in Saturday's semifinals to record what was at that time the fastest time ever run in the United States, didn't make it past the second hurdle in Sunday's final.
Pierce crashed into the first hurdle and lost his balance, stopping as he stumbled into the second hurdle. Pierce was the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist.
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Michael Johnson celebrates his world record inby CNBthe 200-meter final during the Olympic trials in Atlanta. color. 2.
Gail Devers flies over a hurdle during the 100-meter hurdles on
Sunday. Devers won the event and a spot on the Olympic team. She
earlier made the U.S. team in the 100 meters.