AREA ATHLETES : FINALLY, SHOT AT GOLD ARRIVES FOR FULLER, FALLON.

Byline: Daily News Staff Writer

They lost control of the oar for a split second, but now they're back on track with added power - thanks to Kerri Strug and friends.

Today the U.S. women's eight boat, with Westlake Village's Amy Fuller and former UCLA student Catriona Fallon, races for the gold medal many believed the women would win before these Olympics began.

The path to the gold-medal race was a bit unexpected, however. The women lost in the first round and took the repechage route on Wednesday to the finals.

``This has been our focus all along,'' Fuller said. ``(The repechage) was just a distraction. I don't know where we'll finish, but we'll put it all on the line.''

The women spent Tuesday evening watching Strug, the U.S. gymnast, perform her final vault with a badly sprained ankle. Wednesday morning, they were supercharged with jingoism.

``We were all like, `Come on - oh, oh, oh!' We were cheering on the floor of a little room,'' Fallon said. ``We saw the pressure (Strug) was under, and that's what it's all about: mental toughness. That's what we identified with.

``We have to have that (today). This race is everything for us. You have a dream and a philosophy. This is not just a job for me - it's who I am. It's all on the line.''

Fuller's fellow Westlake High grad, David Collins, will race for gold in the lightweight four without coxswain. His boat, which also went the repechage route, was not the favorite when the Games began but had the fastest qualifying time.

``This is everything we practiced for,'' Collins said. ``We understood beforehand that the level of competition would be higher.''

One down, one left: Canoga Park's Jackie Joyner-Kersee may be out of the heptathlon competition, but there's still one area athlete involved.

Ventura's Sharon Hanson, a Buena High grad, is eighth after four disciplines - 279 points behind leader Ghada Shouaa of Syria. Evidently, Hanson's right knee, which has required six operations, is not a problem.

In the morning events, Hanson accumulated 1,074 points in the hurdles (with the fourth-best finish) and 941 in the high jump. In the evening events, she picked up 757 points in the shot put and 941 in the 200 meters.

Almost perfect: Former ULCA pitcher Lisa Fernandez, on the pitch that led to Australia's 10th-inning victory over the U.S., and ended her bid for a perfect game:

``I gave it everything I had, and I probably overthrew it more than I underthrew it. It was supposed to be a rise ball, but it flattened out over the middle of the plate. I had two strikes on her and Pitching 101 will show you that you shouldn't come with something over the plate when you are that far ahead in the count. It was my mistake.''

Troy's boy: USC's Brad Bridgewater became the first local athlete to earn an individual gold medal, winning the 200-meter backstroke Friday. It was the 19th swimming gold in USC history and put Bridgewater in the school's select company of John Naber, Bruce Furniss and Murray Rose.

Bad, but better: The winless men's field hockey team has been ridiculed as the U.S.'s worst entry in these Games. But the barbs ignore the strides the U.S. team made over the years.

This version, with Camarillo's Larry Amar, Simi Valley's Nick Butcher and Tom Vano, Newbury Park's John O'Neill, and Ventura's Ben Maruquin, lost 4-0 to India a few days ago and is now 0-23-3 in Olympic competition.

But consider that in 1956, the U.S. team lost to India 16-0. And in 1932, the Americans lost 23-1 to India. The Americans won a bronze medal that year - because only three teams entered.

The scorecard: The field hockey members weren't the only local athletes to struggle in recent days. A few have earned medals, but in general there has been a dearth of standout performances.

At the midway point of the Games, here's a look at some of the locals:

Taft High sprinter Ruben Benitez failed to qualify for the second round of the 100 meters.

La Crescenta's Gail Castro lost in the second round of beach volleyball.

Van Nuys' Rich Corso and his water polo team, considered a medal favorite, lost to Spain in the quarterfinals and Greece in the losers' bracket.

UCLA's John Godina, the gold-medal favorite in the shot put, threw six feet under his career best in the biggest meet of his life.

Joyner-Kersee withdrew from the heptathlon because of a recurring hamstring injury. She hopes to compete in the long jump this week.

Northridge swimmer Kristine Quance failed to qualify in either the 100 breaststroke or 200 individual medley.

Oxnard welterweight Fernando Vargas, a medal contender, lost a controversial bout in which he failed to score a point in the second round.

Pasadena's Wei Wang and her doubles partner, Lilly Yip, failed to advance to the second round in table tennis.

But all was not lost for the locals during the first week of competition.

Pasadena's Josh Lakatos took silver in the trap shooting with a thrilling victory over fellow American Lance Bade on the 28th round of sudden death.

Simi Valley relief pitcher Jeff Weaver continued his astonishing ascent with three innings of shutout relief work against South Korea.

Sherman Oaks' Dot Richardson and Woodland Hills' Sheila Cornell have led the power U.S. softball team to a 6-1 record in pool play.

A few area athletes debut this week, including Simi Valley archer Justin Huish, Ventura canoeist Joseph Harper, Valencia hurdler Mark Crear and San Fernando sprinter Jeff Williams.

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Photo, Chart

Photo: Catronia Fallon, third from right, and Amy Fu ller, first from right, go for the gold medal today in the women's eight.

Associated Press

Chart: KEEPING WATCH ON AREA ATHLETES