Mack, Stevenson go 1-2 in PV; Trammell takes hurdles silver

ATHENS - With a new Olympic record by Tim Mack and a silver-medal finish by Toby Stevenson, Team USA went 1-2 in the Olympic men's pole vault for the second consecutive Olympiad Friday night at Olympic Stadium. Terrence Trammell provided some track metal as well with his second Olympic silver in the men's 110m hurdles.

Team USA's medal count now stands at 21, already surpassing the total of 20 won at the 2000 Olympic Games in Syndey. Six finals with U.S. athletes are on the schedule for Saturday, with the men's marathon Sunday.

Mack (Knoxville, Tenn.) did not take the lead in the pole vault until he cleared his winning height of 5.95m/19-6.25. The Olympic Trials champion was in second behind Stevenson for most of the competition, save for when Italian Giuseppe Gibilisco cleared 5.85m/19-2.5 on his first attempt to take the lead for one round. Mack had one miss at 5.65m/18-6.5 and another at 5.85m/19-2.5.

Stevenson (Chula Vista, Calif.) was showing remarkable height all night long, particularly on his early jumps. He cleared 5.65m/18-6.5 and 5.75m/18-10.5 with such ease that he looked to have surprised even himself. He and Mack passed 5.80, and both men made 5.85m on their second tries. When he and Mack both cleared 5.90m/19-4.25 on their first attempts, it was Stevenson who was in gold-medal position, since he had no other misses.

Gibilisco was unable to clear 5.90, making it a two-man American race for the gold at 5.95. Mack's clearance at the height gave him his second international victory, after his 2001 Goodwill Games gold. It was the first international championship medal for either man and confirmed a season of incredible consistency and tremendous heights for the duo.

Mack's gold was the 19^th in Olympic competition for American men in the event, and Stevenson's silver brought the U.S. grand total in Olympic pole vault history to 44.

Terrence Trammell (Ellenwood, Ga.) doubled his Olympic silver medal collection, taking second in the men's 110m hurdles for the second consecutive Olympic Games, and keeping the U.S. Olympic medal streak in the event alive - the U.S. has never failed to win a medal in the event.

The Olympic Trials champion, Trammell got out well, then was matched in a footrace that saw Xiang Liu of China well out ahead and four others battling for the next two spots. In fact, Liu was so far ahead, he tied Colin Jackson's world record with an Olympic record time of 12.91, bettering Allen Johnson's OR of 12.95 from the 1996 Games.

Trammell crashed the sixth hurdle but maintained his composure and used his trademark lean to place second in 13.18. At the finish, he nipped defending Olympic gold medalist Anier Garcia of Cuba for the silver, with Garcia third in 13.20. Maurice Wignall of Jamaica and Stanislavs Olijars of Latvia finished tied for fourth with the identical time of 13.21.

Marion Jones (Cary, N.C.) placed fifth in the women's long jump earlier in the evening with a best mark of 6.85m/22-5.75 on her second attempt. Grace Upshaw (Menlo Park, Calif.) was 10^th at 6.64m/21-9.5, which she achieved on both of her legal jumps. Russia swept the event, with Tatyana Lebedeva finishing first with 7.07m/23-2.5, Irina Simagina second with 7.05m/23-1.75, and Tayana Kotova third also at 7.05m/23-1.75.

The women's 4x100m relay was far less successful for Jones and her teammates Angela Williams (Ontario, Calif.), Lauryn Williams (Miami), and LaTasha Colander (Garner, N.C.). Angela Williams got out well in the first leg, and Jones extended the lead on the second leg. Her handoff to Lauryn Williams never materialized, however, as Williams apparently took off too soon. Jones could never catch her, and Team USA left the exchange zone without exchanging the baton. Walking off the track arm-in-arm, all four women spoke to the media for several minutes following the disappointment. They left the mixed zone as a team, Jones and Lauryn Williams clasping hands, and Angela Williams and Colander with arms wrapped around each other.

In the women's 10,000 meters, Elva Dryer (Albuquerque, N.M.) was the top American in 19^th place (32:18.16), and Kate O'Neill (New Haven, Ct.) finished 21^st in 32:24.04. Huina Xing of China won the gold in 30:24.36, with Ejegayehu Dibaba of Ethiopia second in 30:24.98 and Derartu Tulu of Ethiopa third in 30:26.42.

In relay qualifying, Team USA won all three of their semifinal races. The men's 4x100m team of Shawn Crawford (Raleigh, N.C.), Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, Texas), Coby Miller (Pasadena, Calif.) and Maurice Greene (Grenada Hills, Calif.) ran 38.02 to win the second heat in the day's fastest time; 100m gold medalist Justin Gatlin (Raleigh, N.C.) will replace Patton in the final. Nigeria won the first heat in 38.27.

The women's 4x400m relay team of Crystal Cox (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Moushaumi Robinson (Cary, N.C.), Monique Henderson (Los Angeles) and Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas) won its semifinal heat in 3:23.79. Competing in Saturday's final will be Dee Dee Trotter (Knoxville, Tenn.), Henderson, Richards and Monique Hennagan (Stockbridge, Ga.).

The men's 4x400m relay team of Kelly Willie (Baton Rouge, La.), Derrick Brew (Baton Rouge, La.), Andrew Rock (La Crosse, Wis.) and Darold Williamson (Waco, Texas) easily moved the U.S. to the final with their time of 2:59.30. Nigeria had the next-best time, in the same heat, in 3:01.60.

In other finals, Osleidys Menendez of Cuba broke the Olympic record in the women's javelin with a throw of 71.53m/234-8, just one centimeter off her own world record.

Team USA Olympic track & field medal count

As of August 27, 2004

Total Medals: 21

Gold (6)

Tim Mack, 31, Knoxville, Tenn., MPV, 8/27

Dwight Phillips, 26, Mesa, Ariz., MLJ, 8/26/

Shawn Crawford, 26, Raleigh, N.C., M200m, 8/26

Joanna Hayes, 27, Los Angeles, W100mH, 8/24

Jeremy Wariner, 20, Waco, Texas, M400m, 8/23

Justin Gatlin, 22, Raleigh, N.C., M100m, 8/22

Silver (10)

Toby Stevenson, 27, Chula Vista, Calif., MPV, 8/27

Terrence Trammell, 25, Ellenwood, Ga., M110m hurdles 8/27

John Moffitt, 23, Baton Rouge, La., MLJ, 8/26

Bernard Williams, 26, Gainesville, Fla., M200m, 8/26

Allyson Felix, 19, Santa Clarita, Calif., W200m, 8/25

Bryan Clay, 24, Azusa, Calif., MDecathlon, 8/24

Otis Harris, 22, Columbia, S.C., M400m, 8/23

Matt Hemingway, 31, Littleton, Colo., MHJ, 8/22

Lauryn Williams, 20, Miami, Fla., W100m, 8/21

Adam Nelson, 29, Athens, Ga., MSP, 8/18

Bronze (5)

Justin Gatlin, 22, Raleigh, N.C., M200m, 8/26

Melissa Morrison, 33, Columbia, S.C., W100mH, 8/24

Derrick Brew, 26, Baton Rouge, La., M400m, 8/23

Deena Kastor, 31, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., WMarathon, 8/22

Maurice Greene, 30, Granada Hills, Calif., M100m, 8/22