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TRACK & FIELD: Pan American Games Day 2

Williams, Grimes win 100m titles at Pan Am Games
8-6-2003

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Powered by a sweep of gold medal victories in the men's and women's 100-meter dashes, the United States earned 10 medals during the second day of track and field competition in the Pan American Games before a standing room only crowd of 35,000 at Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium Wednesday night.

Mickey Grimes (Ontario, Calif.) and Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.) won the men's and women's 100-meter dashes, respectively, marking the first time that feat has occurred by a U.S. team since the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Ind., when future two-time Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers won the women's 100 and Lee McRae captured the men's 100. Stephen Moore (Plainview, Texas) overcame a 68-point deficit entering the last event to capture the gold medal in the decathlon, marking the third straight Pan American Games in which the U.S. has won this event.

Joanna Hayes (Los Angeles, Calif.) improved on a fifth-place finish in the 1999 Pan American Games to capture gold in the women's 400 hurdles in 54.77. Brenda Taylor (Chula Vista, Calif.) was fourth in 55.27.

Running in lane four, Grimes, 26, won the men's 100 in 10.10 seconds – the second fastest time of his career. He had run a personal best of 10.08 in Tuesday's preliminary round. Marcelle Scales (Franklin, Tenn.), who won the 100 at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships, collected a bronze medal while running a personal best of 10.22.

"I wanted a good start at the top end and it was great," said Grimes, who ran the second leg on the U.S. gold medal 4x100 relay at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships. "I focused on that and took it from there."

Lauryn Williams ran a personal best 11.12, allowing the United States to continue its Pan American Games dominance in the women's 100. The U.S. has now won 10 gold medals in the event but Wednesday's victory marked the first time an American won the women's 100 since the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Angela Williams (Ontario, Calif.), a four-time NCAA 100 champion (1999-2002) at Southern California, earned her second straight Pan American Games silver medal being clocked in a season best 11.15. "After the start, I felt like I already lost the race," said Lauryn Williams, who won the 100 at the 2002 World Junior Championships. "I didn't get out of the blocks and saw the Cuban girl (Virgen Benavides) out ahead. As soon as I caught the Cuban, I saw Angie (Williams) in my peripheral vision and said to myself 'just keep going.' I've been training so hard, like never before. I train to win."

Moore won the decathlon 1,500 in 4:41.71 to collect 670 points, while beating Puerto Rico's Luiggy Llanos by 200 meters. It was Moore's only event victory on the second day but it allowed him to push his total points to 7,809. Llanos, who had led entering the 1,500, finished with 7,704 points.

"I knew I had to make up about nine seconds so I was prepared to run around 4:40," said Moore, who was fourth in the 2003 USA Outdoor Championships. "I kept glancing every 200 meters and when I was about 200 from the finish I hit the throttle and gave it my best. This is a great confidence builder for me."

Moore held the first-day lead in the decathlon with 4,196 points after winning the 100, long jump and 400.

2003 U.S. champion Eric Thomas earned a silver medal in the 400 hurdles (48,74), while world champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic electrified the partisan standing room only crowd by setting a Pan American Games record of 48.19.

Breaux Greer (Athens, Ga.) earned a bronze medal in the men's javelin with a throw 259-10. Nicole Jefferson (Gunnison, Colo.) finished third in the women's 5,000 in 15:42.40.

Earlier Wednesday, Joanne Dow (Bedford, N.H.) won the bronze medal in the women's 20k race walk in one hour 35 minutes 48 seconds. Amber Antonia (Cudahy, Wis.) was eighth in 1:42.45. It marked the second straight Pan American Games in which a U.S. athlete had earned the bronze medal in the women's 20k race walk.

Jesse Strutzel (Huntington Beach, Calif.) was fourth in the finals of the men's 800, just missing a bronze medal when Brazil's Fabiano Pecanha rallied down the stretch to beat him in the last 10 meters 1:46.39 to 1:46.45. Floyd Thompson (Santa Monica, Calif.), who had the fastest qualifying time in the men's 800 in (1:48.86), finished eighth in the finals in 1:50.04.

2000 Olympian Hazel Clark (Gainesville, Fla.) finished eighth in the finals of the women's 800 in 2:09.12.

DAY 2 RESULTS Decathlon 110 Hurdles – 1. Luiggy Llanos, Puerto Rico, 14.29, 937 points 2. Stephen Moore, USA (Plainview, Texas), 14.79, 875 points; 3. Yonelvis Aguila, Cuba, 14.89, 863 points; 4. Enrique Aguirre, Argentina, 15.17, 829 points; 5. Santiago Lorenzo, Argentina, 15.18, 828 points.

Decathlon Discus – 1. Yonelvis Aguila, Cuba, 154-4 (47.04), 809 points; 2. Luiggy Llanos, Puerto Rico, 144-1 /2 (43.93) 745 points; 3. Stephen Moore, USA (Plainview, Texas), 139-3 (42.44) 714 points; 4. Santiago Lorenzo, Argentina, 134-5 (40.98), 684 points; 5. Enrique Aguirre, Argentina, 131-0 ½ (39.93), 663 points.

Decathlon Pole Vault – 1. Santiago Lorenzo, Argentina 15-5 (4.70), 819 points; 2. Stephen Moore, USA, (Plainview, Texas) 14-9 (4.50), 760 points; 3. Luiggy Llanos, Puerto Rico, 14-9 (4.50) 760 points; 4. Enrique Aguirre, Argentina, 13-9 1/4 (4.20), 673 points; 5. Yonelvis Aguila, Cuba, 12-1 ½ (3.70), 535 points.

Decathlon Javelin – 1. Yonelvis Aguila, Cuba, 206-8 (63.01) 783 points; 2. Luiggy Llanos, Puerto Rico, 196-1 (59.78), 735 points; 3. Santiago Lorenzo, Argentina 192-6 (58.68), 718 points; 4. Enrique Aguirre, Argentina, 171-0 (52.12) 620 points; 5. Stephen Moore, USA (Plainview, Texas), 165-2 (50.35) 594 points.

Decathlon 1,500 - 1. Stephen Moore, USA (Plainview, Texas), 4:41.71, 670 points; 2. Santiago Lorenzo, Argentina, 4:42.37, 665 points; 3. Enrique Aguirre, Argentina, 4:49.47, 622 points; 4. Yonelvis Aguila, Cuba, 4:49.93, 619 points; 5. Luiggy Llanos, Puerto Rico, 5:11.24, 497 points;

Final Decathlon Scoring – 1. Stephen Moore, USA (Plainview, Texas), 7,809 points; 2. Luiggy Llanos, Puerto Rico, 7,704 points; 3. Yonelvis Aguila, Cuba, 7,593 points; 4. Santiago Lorenzo, Argentina, 7,467 points; 5. Enrique Aguirre, Argentina, 7,356 points.

FINALS

Women's 800 – 1. Letitia Vriesde, Suriname, 2:02.92; 2. Adriana Munoz, Cuba, 2:02.96; 3. Marian Burnette, 2:03.58; 4. Christiane Ritz, Brazil, 2:04.37; 5. Yanelis Lara, Cuba, 2:04.58; 6. Luciana Mendes, Brazil, 2:05.52; 7. Sheena Gooding, Barbados, 2:06.28; 8. Hazel Clark, USA (Gainesville, Fla.), 2:09.12.

Men's 800 – 1. Achraf Tadili, Canada, 1:45.05; 2. Osmar Dos Santos, Brazil, 1:45.64; 3. Fabiano Pecanha, Brazil, 1:46.39; 4. Jesse Strutzel, USA (Huntington Beach, Calif.) 1:46.45; 5. Sheridan Kirk, Trinidad & Tobago, 1:47.50; 6. Ricardo Etheridge, Puerto Rico, 1:48.53; 7. Marvin Watts, Jamaica, 1:48.98; 8. Floyd Thompson, USA, (Santa Monica, Calif.), 1:50.04.

Women's 100 – 1. Lauryn Williams, USA (Miami, Fla.), 11;12; 2. Angela Williams, USA (Ontario, Calif.), 11.15; 3. Liliana Allen, Mexico, 11.28; 4. Virgen Benavides, Cuba 11.28; 5. Tamika Clarke, Bahamas, 11.39; 6. Savatheda Fynes, Bahamas, 11.42; 7. Judith Kitson, Jamaica, 11.48; 8. Fana Ashby, Trinidad & Tobago, 11.52.

Men's 100 – 1. Mickey Grimes, USA (Ontario, Calif.), 10.10; 2. Michael Frater, Jamaica, 10.21; 3. Marcelle Scales USA (Franklin, Tenn.), 10.22; 4. Anson Henry, Canada, 10.30; 5. Edson Ribeiro, Brazil, 10.31; 6. Jarbas Mascarenhas Jr., Brazil, 10.34; 7. Sheldon Morant, Jamaica, 10.36; 8. Nicconnor Alexander, Trinidad & Tobago, 10.42.

Women's 400 Hurdles – 1. Joanna Hayes, USA (Los Angeles, Calif.), 54.77; 2. Daimy Pernia Figueroa, Cuba, 55.10; 3. Andrea Blackett, Barbados, 55.24; 4. Brenda Taylor, USA (Chula Vista, Calif.) 55.27; 5. Yvonne Harrison, Puerto Rico, 55.27; 6. Allison Beckford, Jamaica, 55.50; 7. Debbie-Ann Parris, Jamaica, 56.73; 8. Lucimar Teodoro, Brazil, 57.56.

Men's 400 Hurdles – 1. Felix Sanchez, Dominican Republic, 48.19 (Pan American Games record – old mark 48.23, Eronilde Nunes de Araujo, Brazil, 1999); 2. Eric Thomas USA (Houston, Texas), 48.74; 3. Dean Griffiths, Jamaica, 49.35; 4. Oscar Juanz, Mexico, 50.28; 5. Regan Nichols, USA (Houston, Texas), 50.31; 6. Sergio Hierrezuelo, Cuba, 50.34; 7. Adam Kunkel, Canada, 50.43; 8. Eronildes, Brazil, 51.19.

Women's 5,000 – 1. Adriana Fernandez, Mexico, 15:30.65 (Pan American Games record – old mark 15:46.32, Adriana Fernandez, Mexico, 1995); 2. Nora Rocha, Mexico, 15:40.98; 3. Nicole Jefferson, USA (Gunnison, Colo.), 15:42.40; 4. Yudelkis Martinez, Cuba, 16:09.33; 5. Bertha Sanchez, Colombia, 16:13.59; 6. Ann Marie Brooks, USA (Columbia, Mo.), 16:31.51; 7. Rosa Apaza, Boliva, 17:01.41; 8. Elsa Monterroso, Guatemala, 17:13.72; 9. Silvia Paredes, Ecuador, 17:46.03.

Men's Long Jump – 1. Ivan Pedroso, Cuba, 27-0 (8.23); 2. Luis Meliz, Cuba, 26-11 (8.20); 3. Victor Castillo, Venezuela, 26-2 ¼ (7.98); 4. Kareem Streete-Thompson, Cayman Islands, 26-1 1/2; (7.96); 5. Osbourne Moxey, Bahamas, 26-0 ¼ (7.93); 6. Kevin Dilworth, USA (Grand Prairie, Texas), 25-9 ½ (7.86); 7. Andre Edwards, Jamaica, 25-5 5 ½ (7.76); 8. Kevin Barlett, Barbados, 24-11 ¼ (7.60); 9. Melvin Lister, USA (Fayetteville, Ark.), 24-9 ¾ (7.56);10. Jean Cummings, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, 24-5 (7.44)

Men's Javelin - 1. Emeterio Gonzalez, Cuba, 268-1 (81.72) (Pan American Games record – old mark 260-1 Emeterio Gonzalez, Cuba, 1995); 2. Isbel Luaces, Cuba, 265-7 (80.95); 3. Breaux Greer, USA (Athens, Ga.), 259-10 (79.21); 4. L. Da Silva, Brazil, 242-4 (73.86); 5. Manuel Fuenmayor, Venezuela, 238-3 ½ (72.63); 6. Nery Kennedy, Paraguay, 238-3 (72.62); 7. Diego Moraga, Chile, 235-6 (71.79); 8. Robert Minnitti, USA (Port Orchard, Wash.), 235-0 (71.64); 9. Noraldo Palacios, Colombia, 226-8 (69.09); 10. Rigoberto Calderon, Nicaragua, 219-8 (66.98) Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic August 6, 2003

by Todd Bell - U.S. Olympic Committee

Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
August 6, 2003

Day 2 Track & Field Quotes

Women’s 20K Race Walk Final

Joanne Dow, Bedford, N.H., Bronze Medalist, 1 hour, 35 minutes, 47 seconds
“ I walked the shortest race of the group. I followed the tangent and stayed with the curve of the road. I thought I’d be five minutes off of my time at nationals (today’s time was a minute off) due to the heat and humidity here. It’s a decent time but you’d never expect a PR in these conditions.”

“The Mexicans ran a smart race and that helped keep it under control. My split in the second half of the race was actually faster than the first half. That doesn’t usually happen.”

“I hoped to medal but you never know. I haven’t raced in a Pan Am event in a couple of years so I didn’t know what to expect.”

Amber Antonia, Cudahy, Wis., 8th place, 1:42:44
“ I knew the conditions would be tough so I wanted to run between 1:45 and 1:48 so I’m very happy with my time. The humidity is the toughest thing about the conditions. Your body can’t cool itself fast enough.

Women’s 800 Meter Finals
Hazel Clark, Gainesville, Fla., 8th, 2:09.12
“ I kept getting pushed off the sides of the track. I kept getting boxed in, it’s the worst race I could ever imagine. I had tons left, I felt great, but I just couldn’t get out. The pace was fine, I just couldn’t get out, boxed in, stuck, everything, it was terrible.

Men’s 800 meters Final
Jess Strutzel, Huntington Beach, Calif., Fourth Place - ex-Huntington Beach HS
“ I was boxed in with 350m to go and everybody slowed down so I had to go around on the outside.” “I liked the conditions.” “The pace was fine, I’ve started out faster so I was OK with it.” I should have finished it. I saw the guy right there next to me at the finish and I should have just finished it to place third”

Men’s Long Jump Final
Kevin Dilworth, Grand Prairie, Texas, 6th place, 25-9.5
“ I was behind the board on every jump, that was the whole deal.” “I’m back with my old coach and just learning again.” I was too fast, I was slowing down every jump to make the board.” “The conditions were great, especially having a slight wind to the back. It was a great day to jump big!” I just had a lot of technical difficulties tonight.”

Women’s 100 meters Final
Lauryn Williams, Miami, Fla., Gold medal, 11.12
“ After the start, I felt like I already lost the race. I didn’t get out of the blocks and saw the Cuban girl out ahead of me. As soon as I caught the Cuban, I saw Angie in my peripheral vision and said to myself ‘just kept going’ My starts have been horrible all season, and I was nervous after yesterday’s race.” “I’ve been training so hard, like never before”. “I train to win.”

Angela Williams, Ontario, Calif., Silver medal, 11:15 - ex Chino HS
“ It was a good race. I was trying to finish out strong, that was my last competition for the year. I’ve been banged up so I’ve got to get ready for next year. I’m glad we (Williams and Lauryn Williams) went 1-2. The United States represented well and that’s what we came here to do is represent, race well for our country and we did a good job.”

Men’s 100 meters Final
Mickey Grimes, Ontario, Calif. (ex-Canyon Springs HS, Moreno Valley), Gold medal, 10.10, third fast time in Pan Am history
“ I wanted a good start at the top end and it was great. I focused on that and took it from there. I didn’t pay attention to the wind, I just ran my race.”

“It’s been my dream to win an Olympic or World Championship gold medal but this is my first one in any competition and it feels pretty good. I think we’ve got a chance to win a gold in the 4x100. We’ve got a great group.

Marcelle Scales, Franklin, Tenn., Bronze medal, 10.22
“ I just want to thank God for giving me this opportunity. This is an experience I’ll never forget. It was great being able to represent the United States in an environment like this. I’ve had better times but I can’t complain. I didn’t do too well with the start and that’s usually my strength.”

Men’s Javelin Final
Breaux Greer, Athens, Ga.; Bronze medal, 259-10
I glad to be on this Pan Am team and I am happy with my performance. I came here to compete and all these guys gave it their best. The Cubans brought their A Game and that why they finished one and two.”

“I think I could of done a little better, but again I am just happy to be here competing. Hopefully, I can get a little better at the World Championships. It has been a long road this year with my injury and all I am trying to do is improve each time out. Last year at Worlds I was able to PB (Personal Best). If I can do that great, but my main goal is making the 2004 Olympic team.”

Robert Minnitti, Orchard, Wash., 8th place, 235-0
“ This was my worst performance this year. I do not having excuses, I just should of thrown better. This was my first Pan Am Games and it was a great experience, I just wished things had worked in my favor. The conditions were a non-issue but it was just seemed like a long competition.”

Women’s 400 Hurdle Finals
Joanna Hayes, Los Angeles, Calif., Gold medal, 54.77 - ex- North HS, Riverside
“ I came in thinking I could win this thing and everything just seemed to fall into place. One of the keys was that I ran the ninth and 10th hurdles well. This is good competition so this is a big win for me. This whole experience has been fantastic. I love it here. I’m to Berlin next so I just have to keep improving.”

Brenda Taylor, Chula Vista, Calif., 4th, place, 55.27
“ I’m obviously disappointed that I’m not going to be on the medal stand. I thought the race was going pretty well, I didn’t realize anyone else was there.”

Men’s 400 meter Finals
Eric Thomas, Houston, Texas, Silver medal, 48.74
“ I was definitely happy to get second, but planned to do better.” My grandmother died this week and it was tough to focus after dealing with all of that throughout the week, so I’m happy with a Silver medal” About Sanchez taking the win: “I’d rather see him do well in his house but I was definitely trying to take it from him.”
“ I’m a couple of weeks of training away from beating him (Sanchez). It’s going to be interesting at the world championships.”

Regan Nichols, Houston, Texas, 5th place, 50.31
“ I got off to a good start but I had a problem at the fourth hurdle. I ran up on it too fast and it got me way off my rhythm. I spent the next four hurdles trying to find it and by that time some fatique was starting to set in. I’m going to go back home and talk to my coach about the rest of the year. I need to work on some things.”

Men’s Decathlon
Stephen Moore, Plainview, Texas, Gold medal, 7,809 points, Came from 68 points behind in the final event -- the 1,500 -- to win)
“ Things didn’t go the best for me today but I was happy to be able to run a good time and win it. This is a real confidence builder. I came in this morning thinking I was ready to have a great day. I had no tightness like I usually do. Then I bruised my heel warming up for the hurdles and had to deal with that.

On the final race, the 1,500:
“ I was prepared to run a 4:40 time and I got off to a good start. I kept glancing back every 200 meters to see how (Luiggy Llanos of Puerto Rico) was doing. Then when I got within about 200 meters of the finish, I hit the throttle and gave it my best.

Women’s 5,000 meters
Nicole Jefferson, Gunnison, Colo., Bronze medal, 15:42.40 - ex- San Luis Obispo HS
“ The coach told me to go out slower but I was feeling good so I went ahead and went for it. I thought I had her (silver medallist Nora Rocha), but she had another gear. She’s a great runner and I totally respect her. She had a great race. I felt her coming up behind me and I gave it all I could.”

Ann Marie Brooks, Columbia, Mo., 6th place, 16:31.51
“ It was really apparent during warm-ups that this was going to be different than any race I’ve ever run. The humidity affected everybody but it should have had a leveling affect but it didn’t. I’m not happy with the result but I’m happy with my effort. I knew it would be hard to cover the break but Nicole (Jefferson, USA bronze medalist) pulled me along for awhile.”

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