DVORAK SNAPS U.S. DECATHLON GOLDEN STREAK.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News The title of World's Greatest Athlete still belongs to Dan O'Brien
Daniel ("Dan") Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966 in Portland, Oregon) is a former American decathlete. . But just barely. Tomas Dvorak of the Czech Republic Czech Republic, Czech Česká Republika (2005 est. pop. 10,241,000), republic, 29,677 sq mi (78,864 sq km), central Europe. It is bordered by Slovakia on the east, Austria on the south, Germany on the west, and Poland on the north. won the decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. Wednesday night at the World Track and Field Championships, scoring 8,837 points, 54 points short of the record set by O'Brien in 1992. His victory also marked the first time since 1987 the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. had not won a gold medal gold medal traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize in the decathlon. Eduard Hamalainen of Finland placed second, with a national record 8,730 points and Frank Busemann Frank Busemann (born February 26, 1975 in Recklinghausen) is a former German decathlete. Busemann started his career as a 110 m hurdler and was junior world champion in this discipline in 1994. of Germany was third with 8,652. O'Brien, unbeaten in five years, is in Athens commentating for NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. but is not competing. The 1996 Olympic champion and three-time world champion, did not compete in the U.S. championships in June because of stress fractures in his right leg and foot, and passed on a wild-card berth to allow the injuries to heal. Steve Fritz Steve Fritz (born 1 November 1967 in Salina, Kansas) is a retired American decathlete. Achievements Year Tournament Venue Result Extra 1991 Universiade Sheffield, England 1st Decathlon 1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 7th Decathlon of the United States, who finished fourth in the 1996 Olympics, amassed a second-day total 4,275 points to move from 13th to fourth Wednesday in the final five events with 8,463 points. ``My second day wasn't a whole lot better,'' Fritz said. ``Instead of being way off on my events, I was just a little off. Some people made mistakes and I just didn't screw up.'' American teammate Chris Huffins Chris Huffins (born 15 April 1970 in Brooklyn, New York) is an athlete from the United States who competed in the field of Decathlon. He was the Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country programs at the University of California from 2002 to led by 21 points over Dvorak with 4,548 points after the first day. He was in third after seven events with 7,161 points but dropped out after fouling on all three attempts in the javelin. Dvorak, 24, had 8,127 points for a commanding 96-point lead over Busemann after nine events. The 1995 European Cup runner-up needed to run 4:27.13 in the 1,500 meters to equal the world record. Dvorak, who has a lifetime best of 4:29.69, led for the first 1,000 meters before he was overtaken by Fritz and Busemann. He finished third in 4:35.40. Dvorak had six personal bests in the two-day event, including lifetime bests 13.61 in the 110-meter high hurdles and 230-9 in the javelin Wednesday. He also threw 165-8 in the discus and cleared 17-0-3/4 in the pole vault pole vault Track-and-field event consisting of a vault for height over a crossbar with the aid of a long pole. It became a competitive sport in the mid-19th century and was included in the first modern Olympic Games. . ``After the pole vault, I knew, `Boy, the gold is yours,' '' Dvorak said. ``I was playing it safe, never experimenting, just looking to capitalize on my very focused preparation for these championships.'' Meanwhile, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase steeplechase Either of two distinct sporting events: (1) a horse race over a closed course with obstacles, including hedges and walls; or (2) a footrace of 3,000 m over hurdles and a water jump. , Kenya became the first nation to sweep the event in world championship history. Wilson Boit Kipketer
Wilson Boit Kipketer (born: October 6, 1973 in Kenya, one of twelve children) is a middle and long distance athlete most widely known for running the 3000 m steeplechase. clocked 8:05.83 to edge world-record holder Moses Kiptanui and Bernard Barmasai, both timed in 8:06.04. Mark Croghan of the U.S., the top non-African finisher, was sixth in 8:14.09. Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj (Arabic: هشام الكروج, born September 14, 1974, Berkane) is a retired Moroccan middle distance runner. He is the world record holder for the 1,500 metres (3:26.00), the mile (3:43. of Morocco ended world-record holder Nourredine Morceli's string of three consecutive world titles with a victory in the 1,500 (3:35.83) and avenged a defeat to the Algerian after falling with a lap to go in the 1996 Olympics. Morceli, whose training has been limited after flying home to attend a brother's funeral earlier this week, placed fourth in 3:37.37. He failed to medal after easing up at the wire and getting passed by Spain's Fermin Cacho (3:36.63) and Reyes Estevez (3:37.26). In the men's 10,000, world-record holder and Olympic champion Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia used a blistering kick over the final 550 meters to win his third consecutive world title in 27:24.58. Paul Tergat of Kenya and Salah Hisou of Morocco timed 27:25.62 and 27:28.67, respectively, for the silver and bronze. Javier Sotomayor, the world-record holder in the high jump, cleared 7-9-3/4 to win his second consecutive title and fourth medal in five world championship appearances. DAY 6 OF 9 TODAY'S FINALS Men 110-meter high hurdles: World-record holder Colin Jackson of Great Britain and Allen Johnson of the U.S., the 1996 Olympic champion and defending world champion, finished first and second in their semifinal heats in 13.24 and 13.31 Wednesday. Mark Crear of Valencia, the 1996 Olympic silver medalist, was thimerd in 13.35 in the other semifinal after a false start to advance. Women Discus: Defending world champion Ellina Zvereva of Belarus is the top qualifier at 65.95. Natalya Sadova or Russia and Irina Yatchenko of Belarus needed only one qualifying throw to advance to the final at 65.14 and 65.00. Suzy Powell of the U.S., the seventh-best world performer of 1997 at 65.22, threw only 54.22 and did not qualify. Shot put: Three Americans, Valeyta Althouse, Connie Price-Smith and Tressa Thompson, qualified for the final for the first time in world championship history. Astrid Kumbernuss of Germany, threw a world-leading 21.22 in qualifying. Kumbernuss, the defending champion who has nine of the top-10 performances in the world, should battle world indoor champion Vita Pavlysh of the Ukraine for the gold. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: Tomas Dvorak of the Czech Republic is congratulated after winning the decathlon in Athens. Associated Press Box: DAY 6 of 9 (see text) |
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