Athlete Quotes - Day 1 (Friday 8/3)

 Women's 200m final

Marion Jones: "I came here to win the 100 and 200 and relay. The 100 didn't happen. Prior to the race (200), I was a bit emotional. I really wanted this one today. And when I crossed the line, I looked up at the clock and it wasn't extremely fast. But a gold medal is a gold medal, and I'm just glad I was able to get to that line first today. ... I know I had the fitness and the strength to get victory today. I put a lot into the turn. It helped, because I felt myself getting a bit tired at the end, and Debbie was approaching a little bit. But I think I made up so much on that curve and ran such a hard turn that it helped me. I felt powerful today. I felt so powerful on the turn. I thought my start was good, and I was able to take it on through.

"I didn't really feel them (Ferguson and White moving up). I felt myself getting tired. I know what Debbie ran yesterday, and what she's capable of running. I'm so very excited that Kelli got the bronze. That says a lot about the future of women's sprinting in the U.S. The fact that LaTasha Jenkins also made the final today, that really makes me excited for tomorrow's relay. I will be part of the final tomorrow, that's all I really wanted. I'm happy and healthy."

"I definitely had something to prove to myself. I like to cross that finish line first, I can tell you."

Kelli White: "I remember going into the straight thinking I've got to move up a little bit. I'm too far behind from Debbie. It's important that I stay with her, because she's fast. When we started coming down the homestretch, I just relaxed. I didn't panic and just started moving right along. I was hoping to dip for a second (and nip Ferguson at the wire), but it wasn't quite enough. I was very disappointed with how I ran yesterday. I took yesterday's disappointment and put it into a positive for today. I gave it all I had today."

LaTasha Jenkins: "I tried. If I can run with them with 75 percent of me, I'm happy. I knew in lane 7 I would become the rabbit, so I tried to get out. I'm blessed that I'm here. Five days ago, I wasn't even going to be here. I had a hamstring problem. So I'm just happy that I made it to the finals and I'm here. I can't make up an excuse. It just wasn't my day."

Women's 100m hurdles semifinals

Jenny Adams: "I talked to my coach last night. He told me what to think about, and that's what I thought about. If you stay with the gameplan, it pays off. I feel strong and I feel confident, both mentally and physically."

Anjanette Kirkland: "I've got to get out and get away from everybody next time."

Gail Devers: "I have some work to do - that was some sloppy hurdling. I'm happy that I ran faster than I've run this year. Yesterday I wasn't pleased with that time, today I felt like I was just a little technically better than yesterday, but I still saw mistakes. Time is one thing, but when you look at it in slow motion that I'm going to hear about from Bobby (Kersee, her coach). I dumped hurdles. And I keep saying that's a no-no. That is a no-no in hurdling, and it's a triple no-no for Gail. I've gotta correct that. I've got 10 more hurdles, and they key for me tomorrow is going to be to have a clean race. I think everybody has been running well. Everybody's running about the same time - nobody's blazing out there, and I think it's going to make for a great final."

Donica Merriman: "I don't know what happened. It's been a long season."

Men's javelin qualifying

Tom Pukstys: "Tension, and technique doesn't come together today. I haven't had enough training at a high level, and I can't put it together when the pressure's on. I had rotator cuff surgery, then I tore a plantar fascia tendon in my right foot, then just problems with my back. Nothing has gone right for me this year, but it's no problem."

Women's high jump qualifying

Amy Acuff: "I'm happy to qualify. I felt really good on my first jumps especially. It's really good to get out there and test the equipment before the final. My technique and my position of my hips at takeoff was good. I did well staying relaxed and staying even keel through the qualifying round. You don't want to get worked up. ... To be able to come out here and make all my heights on my first attempt, that's something I don't think I had ever done before in the qualifying round. Usually it's a little more stressful. I'm getting to the experience and the age where I hope I can contend for a gold medal." On competing in North America: "A lot of people underestimate what a 12-hour flight, a 20-hour travel day will take out of you, and that's what we deal with all the time going to Europe. So ha ha! I took a 3-hour flight direct from L.A. and it was easy street. I'm really enjoying the benefits of being on the receiving end of being close to home."

Erin Aldrich: "My day was horrible. It was kind of a day to cap off a season that I wasn't really very proud of. It was kind of the same-ol, same-ol thing. I think I'm going to call it a season, hopefully come back next year and jump a lot higher."

Men's 1,500m semifinals

Paul McMullen: "I was letting one more go by me (in the final stretch), because I was in fifth, but then I shut off the valve. No one else is going by me. I took a little peek with 25 meters to go and began to say, 'yeah, I did it.' I'm having a blast. That's the way to do this. It goes back to the grade school years. There's a crack in the cement, we look at the buddy next to us, and we say, 'you wanna race?' That's all it is out there. We get out there on that little white line and we say, 'you wanna race? Let's do it.' It's fun. I'm one of the fittest guys out here, hands down. I train with one of the fittest guys in the world, Kevin Sullivan, and right now I've got some momentum. Was that a firecracker of a last 600, or what?"

Men's 5,000m final

Adam Goucher: "They took it out a lot quicker than I thought they were going to. And I was more surprised when they sustained it. I just got in the gap in no-man's land and I ended up running the race by myself. I can't do that. It's stupid. I figured that they'd come back. But they kept pressing, the gap kept getting bigger, and I had to work to close it. That was that. I had no one helping me. It's not what I wanted."