THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: 66 lines
The curve. It makes or breaks a 200-meter man. Because Norfolk State's Ramon Clay ran it poorly Sunday at the U.S. Track and Field Trials, he barely missed becoming an Olympian.
It was the only thing Clay did wrong all weekend.
In a dramatic closing act to eight days of competition, Clay used a furious stretch drive to clock 20.08 in the 200-meter final won in world-record time (19.66) by Michael Johnson.
However, Clay's time was only good enough for fourth place. Michael Marsh, the defending Olympic champion, ran 20.04 to claim the third and final spot on the Olympic team, while runner-up Jeff Williams was just a half-second ahead of Clay in 20.03.
It was close enough that Clay, a 20-year-old from Nashville, paced the track for five minutes afterward, waiting for the results to be posted on the scoreboard.
``I did feel like I leaned fairly good,'' Clay said. ``I crossed my fingers. But I kind of felt when (Marsh) went for his victory lap that he may have finished third.''
He figured right. Finishing fourth, though, makes Clay the official 200-meter Olympic alternate. If injury befalls any of the top three runners before July 16, the date the U.S. team roster must be turned in, Clay will fill the vacancy.
The team could do worse. Clay, the national junior college champion last year, won two preliminary heats here and nailed a wind-aided 19.99 semifinal Saturday to finish second to Johnson.
But after that race, Clay said he felt tightness in his right hamstring. He woke up with a knot in the muscle and worked all day Sunday to loosen it up, with partial success.
Clay said he felt the hamstring throughout the race and didn't run the curve with his usual power because of it. He was fifth heading into the straightaway yet passed Carl Lewis and pulled almost shoulder-to-shoulder to Marsh before the finish.
``That's what hurts me the most - if I would've run another two steps faster in the curve,'' Clay said. ``But I couldn't because of the tightness. I had to press myself to make up what I didn't make up in the curve.
``I was running against some of the best athletes; I knew I couldn't afford to hold back but I did. Then, once my leg started cramping up, I knew I was going to have to either gut it out or finish dead last.''
Marsh, though, claimed Clay's charge was lost on him.
``I wasn't aware of him at all,'' Marsh said. ``I didn't notice until I saw the replay. I wasn't feeling all that hot, I just wanted to be on the team. No disrespect to him but, you know, I'm really thankful he didn't catch me.''
Norfolk State coach Steve Riddick said Clay's sore hamstring was more of a mental barrier and that a technical lapse at the wire - leaning early - hurt Clay the most.
``He probably took a little from his head and put it down here,'' Riddick said, pointing to his thigh. ``He was running faster than anybody that last 150 meters. He didn't run a good curve, but he made a major move. If he'd have kept that momentum going though, oh, he was in there.''
Nevertheless, Clay knows that he established himself for good on the the U.S. track scene with three days of big-league sprinting.
``He'll replay this until the next time,'' Riddick said. ``Ramon is strong. He's always said, `If I don't make it this time, I've got plenty more.' '' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ramon Clay, in the dark jersey in lane 3, battled a knot in his
hamstring during his more-than-credible effort against the top U.S.
runners. by CNB