GOLDEN TROJAN : KISS WINS HAMMER THROW.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

USC hammer thrower Balazs Kiss and UCLA shot putter John Godina are good friends who have trained and traveled together in recent years.

So Kiss was watching closely Friday night when Godina, the Olympics' shot-put favorite, finished second with a top throw that was approximately six feet under his career best. His explanation? Nerves.

``I saw him, and I said, `I've got to loosen up,' because I saw his eyes. He was tightened up,'' Kiss said. ``He was afraid. And for (Randy) Barnes to take the gold from him on the last throw, it's life. And that's what I thought about. You can't just think `I can take gold.'

``It's just another meet.''

And so Kiss treated it like he treated every meet he entered in four years at USC. He won it.

Kiss, competing for his native Hungary, tossed 81.24 meters (266 feet, 6 inches) on his third throw and watched American Lance Deal's last effort land .12 meters (four inches) short - giving Deal a silver medal and the United States its first hammer-throw medal in 40 years.

``I won, so I'm not supposed to say I'm not satisfied,'' Kiss said. ``I didn't have very good technique, just a lot of adrenaline.''

Kiss spent Saturday evening watching the thrilling and controversial 100-meter races, then needed a glass of milk and a few antacid tablets to settle his nerves. The next thing he knew, it was 9 a.m.

``I've never slept that much before a meet, and I was sleepy all day, so I drank some coffee,'' he said.

Kiss, who won four consecutive NCAA championships and never lost a collegiate meet, received a warm reception from the crowd of 83,000 strong - but a chilly one from the officials.

``I was throwing in qualifying, and I didn't foul on my first, but they took it away. I said, `What's going on?' Then Lance fouled on his last qualifying throw and they let him have it. I thought, `What the hell is going on?' '' he said.

``If I could change anything, it would be to have international judges at meets like this.''

But Deal fouled on his first official throw, while Kiss tossed 80.5 meters on his second and 81.24 - the eventual winner - on his third.

Deal managed a 76.94 on his third and was tied for eighth when it came time to whittle the field from 12 to eight. But with two fouls to Enrico Sgrulletti's none, Deal was technically in ninth.

That was it, he figured, so he removed his shoes and buried his head in his hands. An Olympic dream denied.

``I wasn't aware that after the third throw they allow nine into the final in case of a tie,'' he said. ``I thought I was done. I was very disappointed. I thought I had failed, and failed horribly.

``Then I heard the loud speaker (announce him as a finalist) and I thought, `Here's another life. Let's do something with it.' ''

And he did. His final throw sailed 81.12 and, for a second, appeared to overtake Kiss.

``I had to re-start my heart,'' Kiss said.

``To get that close to Balazs is a little frustrating,'' Deal said. ``But if I had gotten that last throw then knowing what kind of competitor he is, he'd have probably cranked out an 83.''

Kiss, who learned the hammer throw because he was frustrated with team sports - ``I couldn't handle . . . taking mutual responsibility for somebody else's mistake,'' he said - is the third Hungarian to win the hammer throw.

Advancing easily: Valencia resident Mark Crear ran the fastest 110-meter hurdle time of the second round Sunday and advanced to today's semifinals. The final is at 5:50.

``It's two down, two to go,'' said the former Trojan. ``All I wanted to do was get out in a comfortable pace.''

Crear, who ran 13.14, is a gold-medal contender. His toughest competition should come from American Allen Jackson and world-record holder Colin Jackson of Great Britain.

Matching medals: Gail Devers and U.S. triple jumper Kenny Harrison now have more in common than their bedroom. (They have lived together in Van Nuys for several years.)

Just before Devers raced to a narrow victory in the 100, Harrison leaped to gold with an Olympic-record 59-feet, 4-1/4-inch jump - beating world-record holder Jonathan Edwards (Great Britain) along the way.

``I told him not to mess up my concentration, but of course, he did,'' Devers said.

Can't wait for 2000: UCLA junior-to-be Suzy Powell held no unreasonable expectations when the discus competition began Sunday morning. Only 20, she considered Atlanta a training ground for her more realistic goal: to medal in Sydney 2000.

So although she threw 56.24 meters to finish 33rd of 39 - the top 12 advanced to the final - her experience was invaluable.

``I got my butt kicked, but I enjoyed every minute of it,'' she said. ``This won't be my last Olympics.''

False motives: It may be that Linford Christie's first false start in the men's 100 was intentional, a ploy to intimidate his younger rivals. However, his second false start, which got him disqualified, was by no means on purpose. Nor was Ato Boldon's.

``I wasn't false starting. I do not false start,'' said Boldon, who is bright and brash but also the youngest of the top sprinters.

His immaturity was apparent, both in his on-track reaction to the false starts and his post-race emotions. However, pencil Boldon, all of 22, as the favorite for 100 gold in Sydney.

For the record, the rule regarding false starts is as follows: Each starting block has an electronic sensor that beeps when a runner's foot leaves it. Runners are not permitted to leave within 0.1000 of the starting gun. On his second false start, Christie was timed leaving the block 0.086 after the gun - too quick.

Another chance: He ran 100 meters in 10 seconds flat but finished fifth - not exactly the result former Bruin Mike Marsh wanted in track's most glamorous event. But Marsh isn't finished in these Olympics.

On Wednesday he returns in his best event, the 200, as one of Michael Johnson's prime challengers.

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