THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 23, 1996 TAG: 9606230191
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: 86 lines
Two men have covered 200 meters in fewer than 20 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. World champion Michael Johnson is one of them. Ramon Clay of Norfolk State is the other.
Johnson and the 20-year-old from Nashville did it in the same semifinal heat on a scorching Saturday afternoon at the races. At first, Johnson's 19.70 appeared to be a world record, until the wind meter registered above 2.0 meters per second. That rendered Johnson's time ``wind-aided'' and thus ineligible for the record book.
If that also took a bit of shine off Clay's 19.99, his first sub-20 performance, it doesn't cancel these facts - Clay is one swift dude, and he'll be among the eight sprinters who will close the trials today with a rousing 5:40 p.m. final.
Clay was the only local runner to reach the finals. Norfolk's Tonya Williams and Portsmouth's Latasha Colander finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in their 100-meter hurdles semifinal heat and did not advance.
``I have a great chance,'' said Clay, who survived two heats in 90 minutes on a track that reached 112 degrees. ``All I have to do is keep my mind focused like it has been and I'll be in the thick of things.''
Clay said that when he made the turn, ``I felt a little shaky from the sun and the temperature. So I felt my strength pushed me through the straightaway.''
No disrespect intended, said fellow finalist Mike Marsh, But more than Clay's strength influenced his time.
``They ran a wonderful race, but I think we underestimate just how much of an advantage you get with a 2.7 wind,'' said Marsh, whose 19.73 at the '92 Barcelona Games claimed the gold medal and barely missed the world record. Italy's Pietro Mennea set the mark of 19.72 in 1979.
``I don't want to take anything away, he's been running great here,'' Marsh said of Clay. ``But going under 20 under legal conditions and doing it windy is a totally different story.''
Clay represents a familiar story to those who follow Norfolk State track. He is a refugee from Blinn Junior College in Texas, which killed its track program after last season. To run in Division I, however, Clay needed another year of junior college.
So he and teammates Tim Montgomery and Brian Lewis chose Norfolk State, which is awaiting approval of its Division I application.
At the trials, Montgomery nipped Lewis to reach the 100-meter final, in which he finished seventh. And with a 200-meter final field that includes Johnson, Marsh, Carl Lewis and Jeff Williams, Clay could be more likely to finish near the back than the front.
Understandably, Norfolk State coach Steve Riddick begs to differ.
``He's performing,'' Riddick said. ``He's winning his sections. The only guy beating him is the world's best. It's great.''
Clay isn't getting much respect, that's for sure. Clay has won two heats and pushed Johnson in the third. But his quote sheet distributed to the media mislabeled him ``Ramon Cooper.'' And his name never came up in a 20-minute postrace press conference with Carl Lewis, Williams and Marsh, who admitted later he'd never heard of Clay before Friday.
``Some of the younger guys know me,'' said Clay, whom Riddick dubbed ``the junior college Michael Johnson'' in honor of Clay's 200- and 400-meter titles last year. It's the same double Johnson hopes to accomplish at the trials and the Olympics.
``Everyone knows me for a 400-runner,'' Clay said. ``I ran 45 (seconds) out of high school, I never really ran the 200. But now everyone knows.''
Most everyone, anyway. If Clay has at least a third place left in his tank today, though, his life as Ramon Cooper will prove brief.
In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Williams and Colander easily reached the semifinals. But once there, racing side by side, neither was a factor.
``This has really helped teach me that regardless of how you do, you have to keep coming back harder,'' Colander, 19, a two-time ACC champion for North Carolina, said of the trials. ``You have to get your time, instead of focusing on somebody else beside you. It's helped me to grow up.
``Making it to the semifinals proves to myself that I belong. When I'm 23, I'll come back stronger and know how to do it because of this experience.''
Williams said an early misstep in the semifinal doomed her. She looped too high over one hurdle, which caused her to nearly hit the next one. Williams is normally a strong finisher, but could not make up enough turf to get fourth place.
``By the time I floated down, they were already gone,'' Williams said. ``I tried to lean at the end - the lean is the best part of my race - but it didn't work this time.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS color photo
Norfolk State's Ramon Clay, far left, made up ground in a hurry to
finish second to Michael Johnson, third from right, in 200
semifinal. Both finished under 20 seconds. by CNB