TEAM USA TRACK & FIELD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY, AUG. 26, 2004
MEN'S 200 FINAL
Shawn Crawford (Raleigh, N.C.), gold medal, while running the fastest time in world this year (19.79): "We train like champions and we expect to perform like champions. There is no bigger stage to accomplish what we did than here. But it's not over yet we still have to run the 4x100 relay where we're going for a world record.
"I'm really enjoying it. Me and my partner (Justin Gatlin, Olympic gold medallist in 100), are going home with two gold medals in the 100 and 200. We kept our focus and ran the race we should have"
Bernard Williams (Gainesville, Fla.), silver medal (20.01): "Well, I got out pretty good. Crawford (gold medallist Shawn) got out better. Basically, I just held my composure to the end so I could get one of the medals."
...On the crowd noise: "That didn't disturb us. We got all three medals. We just kept our composure. We're just glad to get all three medals."
...If they talked about the sweep: "All week because we saw the 400 men do it and that kind of inspired us."
...On the victory lap: ""My silver medal here, I got the chance to show some growth, meaning carrying the flag with respect. I'm older. I'm mature now and I wanted to paint a better picture of myself and represent the United States the way they want me to."
..What the silver medal means: "This medal is going to be paying for a lot of diapers."
Justin Gatlin (Raleigh, N.C.), bronze medal (20.02): "I felt pretty good. There was a little distraction. Of course at the beginning, it was a little delayed for a period of time. We just wanted to go out there and perform to the best of our abilities.
"We just wanted to show the world that we're not hating on anybody. Every Greek athlete I've seen has shown me love. Every Greek volunteer I've seen, they've shown me love and I can give love right back.
"I was a little tired. This was my eighth race. I've never run eight races in my life back-to-back. I'm happy that I came home, we swept it, and I have another medal at 22."
MEN'S LONG JUMP FINAL
Dwight Phillips (Mesa, Ariz.), gold medal (8.59m/28-2.5): "It's been a long time since we came one-two. I'm glad that John Moffitt and Dwight Phillips were able to bring it back to the United States. It has been a lifetime dream to win a gold medal. I'm just happy. I wanted to pressure everybody early. Last year, I had to win most of my competitions on my last jump. I knew if I pressured everybody early it would be hard for me to be defeated. I was very confident going into the competition. I was trying so hard to break the world record that I twisted my ankle a little and ended up falling on my face. I can feel it right now, but not then; it was the adrenaline. I feel so great; I'm filled with joy. I have so much joy. It feels great to follow in the footsteps of Mike Powell, Carl Lewis, Ralph Boston, Bob Beamon. I'm feeling very patriot right now. ... I haven't lost all year, and I didn't want to start here." On his personality and his ever-present smile: "I'm the guy you'll always see smiling and who will give his all, not just in track and field but in every part of life."
John Moffitt (Baton Rouge, La.), silver medal (8.47m/27-9.5): "You can't beat that USA one-two. It's been a long journey. I've worked hard for this. Dwight is a good competitor. I worked hard. I came through on my third jump to win the silver medal. I knew if I came out and had a good chance to medal if I went out there and competed. As you can see, Dwight won it all and you can't beat that. "My coach works miraccles. This night was crazy." On Team USA's succes son Thursday: "It means a lot. The USA is coming back and coming back strong. It's a wonderful night for the USA tonight." MEN'S JAVELIN THROW QUALIFYING ROUND
Breaux Greer (Athens, Ga.) led all qualifiers with mark of 87.25m (286-3) on first throw: "I got lucky, really lucky, because I did it on the first throw. That was kind of the plan, but I just wanted a good throw. As long as I got over the qualifying mark, that's all I was looking for. Luckily, it just kept going."
...On his torn left ACL: "It hurt a lot. It's a torn ACL. What do you do? All I've got to do is try to deal with the pain like always."
...On being able to compete in the finals with a torn ACL: "I will be able to go through several throws. Like I said, its just pain. It's temporary. I'll get it fixed afterwards. It doesn't feel good, but so what."
"I'm just out here to throw a stick. I'm not worried; I can tell you that much. I don't get nervous. There's one medal out there and I'd like to have it. I'll tell you again, I didn't come to get second. Hopefully, I can live up to that."
...On if an 87.25 win the final: "I hope not. I hope it is over 90. I came to throw over 90. If I won a gold medal and I didn't throw over 90, I wouldn't be happy. I want to do better for the event. I want to throw 200 meters here. I want to hit someone in the crowd."
WOMEN'S 1,500 SEMIFINAL ROUND
Carrie Tollefson (Minneapolis, Minn.), 9th in semifinal heat 2 at 4:08.55: "This has been really good for me, learning how to race mentally. I'm so glad I was here, but I'm really tired and ready for a break. It has been a long year, but an awesome year. Endurance carried me through all summer. I wish I had had a few more weeks of speed training, but the endurance I built up over the year helped definitely helped me to 1500. I'm really excited to be here in the 1500. Everybody thinks American distance running is going down the drain. We're coming back. I don't want people to say American distance running is down the drain. A lot of us have proven that we can get here and that we'll do good things."
MEN'S 110 HURDLES SEMFINAL ROUND
Duane Ross (Garner, N.C.) fifth in semifinal heat 1 (13.30): "I tried to muscle through that race, and it wasn't happening today."
...On his injury: "We tried to do everything we could to get that thing under control. We tried acupuncture, electronic stem, ice baths, and it just wasn't working. It's just one of those things."
...On not making the final: "It's a huge disappointment. It would be a different story if I didn't make the finals and I was healthy. I can't complain. This was my first Olympics. Of course, I wanted to do better, but hey, you've got to come prepared. I'll live with it. I'll be okay tomorrow."
Terrence Trammell (Ellenwood, Ga.), second in semifinal heat 2 (13.17): "I just anted to get out, execute well, keep my center of gravity up and let it flow. I qualified comfortably. My race controlled. I didn't feel pressure from anyone.
"If someone wanted to go out and run 13 in the semifinals, big deal. Tomorrow's the real deal. My key focus is on doing the best the best I can do. I feel honored and I step up to the challenge of being the sole American in the finals."
MEN'S 800 SEMFINAL ROUND
Jonathan Johnson (College Station, Texas) eighth in semifinal heat 3 (1:50.10): "I'm not going to blame it on my back or anything. I ran a good 600 after that my legs got real tight. I kind of got bumped around. I got a good experience out of all this. My best Olympics are in front of me. I got to get more mileage under me. I trained like a 400-meter runner. I lot of these guys out here do a lot more mileage than me."
WOMEN'S HIGH JUMP QUALIFYING ROUND
Amy Acuff (Austin, Texas), fourth in Group B qualifying (1.95m/6-4 3/4) to advance into finals: "Whew! A had a good jump tonight. It's good to get past the first round, to get past the jitters and the rust from sitting around for two weeks. I feel good about my chances to medal. I think it will take two meters (to medal.)
"Training camp was great; in a way it was good to be isolated in a foreign country away from family and media and other distractions."
Chaunte Howard (Atlanta, Ga.) 13th in Group A qualifying (1.85m/6-0 ¾):"I'm disappointed, but I try to sit back and realize that I'm one of the youngest people out here. I'm glad to make it this far at a young age. I never go into anything over confident. You have to keep your head together with all the chaos going on around you. Overall it's been a great experience. The most disappointing thing is that my family won't see me in the finals, but hey."
Tisha Waller (Atlanta, Ga. Ninth in Group B qualifying (1.89m/6-2 ¼): "It was a rough day, but you move forward and I'm OK. We'll see how next year goes. I just didn't make the qualifying height. I didn't make the right adjustments. My first jump was good, my second jump was good, and I was trying to make adjustments that didn't work. I felt good warming up. I'll jump one more year, but this definitely is my last Olympics."
WOMEN'S 4x100 RELAY QUALIFYING
The United States posted the fastest overall qualifying time of 41.67 after winning the first heat.
Angela Williams (Ontario, Calif.), first leg: "All I wanted to do was make the (U.S.) team and now here I am! We executed well tonight, really well together. We're satisfied with our time. With the team we will be able to come up with tomorrow, I'm confident we can win the gold medal. We played it smart tonight–ran fast enough to make sure we had a comfortable lead. Sprinting is not an easy race; it puts pressure on your body, and so it's good we have several people.
"We have been watching other races in the stands (on other nights.) We get so excited, jumping around and yelling, that we finally said to ourselves, 'we don't need to be here, getting so excited.'
"We just need to continue being smart. I would like to see the tape of my handoff with Marion (Jones); I'm never satisfied.
"I like to run behind Marion. I just get behind her and say, 'go, go, go.' I can tell when she is ready to go, and she was ready tonight."
Marion Jones (Cary, N.C.), second leg: "We talked about (world record) it in the warm ups today. First and foremost we wanted to qualify for the finals. I thought the baton exchanges were really good. I felt really good. This team is a lot different than four years ago. They're young, they're fresh, and they're excited about everything. That just brings a little more excitement to it all."
LaTasha Colander (Garner, N.C.), anchor leg: "When I got the baton, we were so far in front that to tell the truth I couldn't tell you the exact meters of how far we were in front. We had the lead at the exchange. I think we made a statement with a 41.57. I think we made the statement that we're going after that Olympic record. Whoever is going to go after it with us, they're going to have to beat the record, because we're going after it."
MEN'S 400 HURDLES FINAL
James Carter (Hampton, Va.) fourth (48.58): "I'm disappointed. I'm pretty upset right now. I just didn't have it tonight. I just messed up and got beat."
Bennie Brazell (Baton Rouge, La.) eighth (49.51): "Before the race I felt OK, now I am too tired. I can't say anything or I can't say what happened. I tried my best. I am OK and I am back:
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