TRACK & FIELD : IT'S NO WALK IN THE PARK FOR HERAZO CASTAIC RACE WALKER IS DQED AS RESULT OF USING ILLEGAL FORM.Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer When they compile the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. edition of the ``Strange but True Stories of the Atlanta Games,'' there's sure to be a few paragraphs on Castaic's Victoria Herazo. Her ignominious ig·no·min·i·ous adj. 1. Marked by shame or disgrace: "It was an ignominious end ... as a desperate mutiny by a handful of soldiers blossomed into full-scale revolt" Angus Deming. achievement: an illegal walk. Yes, Herazo was disqualified dis·qual·i·fy tr.v. dis·qual·i·fied, dis·qual·i·fy·ing, dis·qual·i·fies 1. a. To render unqualified or unfit. b. To declare unqualified or ineligible. 2. from the 10-kilometer walk on the streets outside Olympic Stadium The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track & field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. on Monday morning for what she called ``bending and lifting'' violations. Strange as that may seem to race-walking novices, Herazo wasn't alone. Of the 44 participants, five were disqualified. Amid the chaos - well, it wasn't really chaos - Russia's Yelena Nikolayeva Yelena Nikolayeva (Russian: Елена Николаева, born February 1, 1966 in Akshiki Chuvashskaya) is a Russian race walker. raced, err, walked to victory in 41:49. ``This has happened to me before,'' Herazo said. ``It's a natural part of our event.'' The oldest entrant at 37, Herazo was competing in her second Olympics. To improve upon her 27th-place finish in Barcelona she took leave from her job as a veterinary technician A veterinary technician (also called a vet tech), is a person trained and licensed to assist veterinarians. Their job is similar to that of a nurse. Job description in March and moved to Atlanta Slang for a 404 error on the Web, which is a link to a missing page. The area code for Atlanta, Georgia is 404. See 404 error. to train. When the starting gun sounded at 8:30 a.m. Atlanta time in a surprisingly crowded Olympic Stadium, Herazo was ready for the heat and ready for the course - most of which is outside the stadium - but she wasn't quite ready to walk. ``I'm disappointed, because I wanted to place in the top 10 or 15,'' she said. ``I didn't have one of my better days. I was having difficulty with my form. I was trying to correct it, but obviously I didn't.'' She was disqualified on two counts: First, competitors must have a straight knee each time they plant that foot. Second, one foot must be on the ground at all times. Eagle-eye judges swarm the course and announce when violations occur. Three stikes - and you're out. Herazo committed her violations at various points in the race, but the third came at the eight-kilometer mark while she was passing competitors. ``My coach's theory is to slow down and have perfect form,'' she said. ``But I was close to last (40th) at the time, and I didn't want to finish last. So I picked up speed, and that must have tipped off the judges. Your form gets wobbly when you go faster.'' Herazo plans to return to work in the next month or so, and she has no plans to stop race walking. In fact, the Atlanta experience has strengthened her resolve. ``This gives me more impetus to work hard on my technique,'' she said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Castaic's Victoria Herazo (3842) leads in the women' s 10-kilometer race walk but later fell behind and was disqualified for form breaks. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion