Bert Rosenthal (AP)
21 July 2000 - Sacramento, California - Regina Jacobs wasn't content with just winning the women's 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials - she went after her American record and smashed it by more than seven seconds.
In destroying the rest of the 15-woman field and setting the first U.S. record of the trials Friday night, the 36-year-old Jacobs was timed in 14 minutes, 45.35 seconds, fastest in the worldthis year by 7 1/2 seconds. Her previous mark of 14:52.49 was set July 4, 1998, at Brunswick, Maine.
The world record is 14:28.09 by China's Jiang Bo, set in 1997.
Jacobs, who has world-class range between 800 and 5000 meters - she won the 1500 Sunday - took command in the 5000 with 1500 meters remaining. From that point on, she steadily pulled away from 10,000 trials winner Deena Drossin and beat her by more than 26 seconds.
Having become the first to win two events at the trials, Jacobs now must decide whether she wants to run one or both at the Olympic Games in Sydney.
Jacobs, who appears to be improving with age, set the American indoor record for 1000 meters and won the mile at the USA Indoor Championships earlier this year.
In Friday night's other finals, Lance Deal won the men's hammer throw at 256 feet, 9 inches (78.26 meters); Adam Goucher rallied to win the men's 5,000 at 13:27.06; Tom Pappas took the decathalon with a personal-best 8,467 points; and Connie Price-Smith made her fourth Olympic team, winning the women's shot put at 61-1 ½ (18.63 meters).
Deal, the most prolific hammer thrower in the United States over the past decade, is ending his career in style.
Not only did the American record-holder win the competition, he had the five best throws among 12 competitors. Runner-up Kevin McMahon was more than 18 feet (5.49 meters) back, at 240-6 (73.30 meters).
The victory earned Deal a ticket to the Olympic Games. He won the silver medal in 1996.
The 38-year-old Deal said this is his final year of competition, and he would like nothing better to cap his career with a gold medal at Sydney.
``The amount of energy it takes to throw far is too substantial,'' Deal said of his decision to retire. ``I don't know whether it's because I'm old, hurt or bored, but I'm ready to move onto something else.''
Goucher showed no signs of the Achilles' tendinitis that slowed him this year. He used a powerful stretch run to hold off NCAA champion Brad Hauser by 0.25 seconds in the 5000. American record-holder Bob Kennedy, still bothered by the effects of an auto accident, finished sixth.
Pappas, the 1999 National Collegiate Athletic Association champion for University of Tennessee, overcame early leader Chris Huffins, the two-time U.S. champion, in the final two events to win his first national decathlon title.
In the javelin, Pappas out-threw Huffins, 208-2 (63.44 meters) to 178-4 (54.36 meters), and in the final event, the 1500, Pappas outran him, 4:59.74 to 5:11.01. Huffins wound up second with 8,285 points.
Kip Janvrin, 35, competing in a record 70th decathlon, won the 1500 at 4:12.01 and earned the third spot on the team with 8,057 points.
In the women's shot-put, Price-Smith, 38, had the four longest throws in winning her 22nd national title indoors and outdoors. She is seeking her first Olympic medal, with her best finish fifth in 1996.
Stacy Dragila, world record-holder in the women's pole vault, is taking the event higher and higher. On Sunday, she plans to reach another plateau.
``I hope I'm at ease like I was going into today,'' Dragila said Friday, after clearing 13-2 1/4 during preliminaries to reach the final. ``I felt fast, I felt light and quick. If I go into Sunday feeling like I did today, I think you're going to see another world record.''
Dragila set the world record of 15-1 3/4 at Phoenix on May 6, then cleared 15-5 at Santa Barbara, California, last month, but the mark was unacceptable as a world record because the competition was held over an illegal runway on the beach.
Charles Austin, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist in the men's high jump, was among 11 jumpers who advanced to Sunday's final by clearing 7-2 1/2.
Another '96 gold medalist, Derrick Adkins, failed to advance through the semifinals of the 400 hurdles. Adkins faded badly down the stretch in his heat and wound up sixth at 50.22, nearly three seconds slower than his time in winning the world title in 1995 and the Olympic championship a year later.
After his disheartening performance, Adkins, 30, said he was retiring.
``This is my last race,'' he said. ``I will be a minister ... Right now, I have to completely remove myself from the sport.''
A third gold medalist, triple jumper Kenny Harrison, also was eliminated quickly. Harrison jumped 53-0 in the preliminaries, failing to qualify for the final by 3 1/2 inches.
Leading results:
Men
800m semi-finals (qualifiers for final)
1st semi-final: 1. Khadevis Robinson 1:48.01, 2. Bryan Woodward 1:48.06, 3. Rich Kenah 1:48.07, 4. Jeffrey Kuzma 1:48.09
2nd semi-final: 1. Jesse Strutzel 1:46.37, 2. Trinity Gray 1:46.42, 3. Mark Everett 1:46.79, 4. Jason Pyrah 1:46.95
5,000m Final (top two are qualified for Sydney)
1. Adam Goucher 13:27.06, 2. Brad Hauser 13:27.31, 3. Nick Rogers 13:29.48, 4. Matt Lane 13:37.03, 5. Marc Davis 13:39.88, 6. Bob Kennedy 13:42.15, 7. Jason Stewart 13:44.47, 8. Jonathon Riley 13:46.24, 9. Alan Culpepper 13:48.75, 10. Chris Graff 13:49.45, 11. Brent Hauser 13:57.71, 12. Brian Baker 13:58.72
400m hurdles semi-finals (qualifiers for final)
1st semi-final: 1. Angelo Taylor 48.59, 2. Eric Thomas 48.79, 3. Calvin Davis 49.27, 4. Louis Sales jnr 49.72 ... failed to qualify: 6. Derrick Adkins 50.22
2nd semi-final: 1. Joey Woody 48.72. 2. James Carter 48.87, 3. William Porter 48.91, 4. Sherman Armstrong 48.94
Hammer Final (top two are qualified for Sydney)
1. Lance Deal 78.87m, 2. Kevin McMahon 73.31, 3. Jud Logan 71.01, 4. Gerald Ingalls 70.22, 5. Kevin Mannon 69.90, 6. Mark McGehearty 68.92, 7. James Parker 67.72, 8. John McEwan 66.75, 9. Travis Nutter 65.66, 10. Doug Bryant 65.54, 11. Marvin Williams 64.95, 12. Matthew Kavanagh 59.28
High jump preliminaries (qualifiers for final)
Jeremy Fischer, Charles Austin, Matt Hemingway, Nathan Leeper, Henry Patterson, Charles Clinger, Kenny Evans, James Nieto, Marc Chenn, Tora Harris, Ronald Nelson, all at 2.20m
Triple jump preliminaries (qualifiers for final)
1. LaMark Carter 16.72m, 2. Walter Davis 16.70, 3. Robert Howard 16.65, 4. Chris Hercules 16.52, 5. Clifton Etheridge 16.51, 6. Von Ware 16.49, 7. LeVar Anderson 16.47, 8. Marcus Thomas 16.46, 9. Rich Thompson 16.36, 10. Leonard Cobb 16.31, 11. Kenta Bell 16.28, 12. Robert Johnson 16.24
Decathlon Final Standings (top three qualify for Sydney)
1. Tom Pappas 8,467 points (10.70sec, 7.41m, 15.32m, 2.14m, 48.91sec) (14.27sec, 45.81m, 5.10m, 63.45m, 4:59.74)
2. Chris Huffins 8,285 (10.45, 7.87, 14.60, 2.11, 48.64) (14.31, 50.27, 4.50, 54.35, 5:11.01)
3. Kip Janvrin 8,057 (11.03, 6.92, 13.94, 1.90, 48.39) (14.88, 42.30, 5.00, 59.30, 4:12.01)
4. Phil McMullen 7,954, 5. Daniel Steele 7,890, 6. Bevan Hart 7,873, 7. Avery Anderson 7,692, 8. Chad Smith 7,664, 9. Trafton Rodgers 7,369, 10. David Pope 6,186, 11. Steve Fritz 6,060
Women
800m semi-finals (qualifiers for final)
1st semi-final
1. Hazel Clark 2:01.58, 2. Michelle Ave 2:02.28, 3. Amy Ross-Schroer 2:02.63, 4. Mary
Jayne Harrelson 2:02.65
2nd semi-final
1. Jearl Miles-Clark 2:02.80, 2. Meredith Rainey-Valmon 2:02.92, 3. Joetta Clark-Diggs 2:03.03, 4. Elizabeth Diaz 2:03.28
5000m Final (top three qualify for Sydney)
1. Regina Jacobs 14:45.35, 2. Deena Drossin 15:11.55, 3. Elva Dryer 15:12.07, 4. Amy Rudolph 15:21.16, 5. Anne Marie Lauck 15:23.71, 6. Clare Taylor 15:30.44, 7. Shayne Culpepper 15:30.44, 8. Kara Wheeler 15:34.47, 9. Kristin Ihle 15:35.28, 10. Annette Peters 15:37.99, 11. Blake Russell 15:48.12, 12. Colette Liss 15:49.85
Shot Put Final
1. Connie Price-Smith 18.63m, 2. Jesseca Cross 17.74, 3. Dawn Dumble 17.40, 4. Teri Tunks 17.35, 5. Cheree Hicks 16.42, 6. Lisa Griebel 16.29, 7. Chaniqua Ross 16.17, 8. Christina Tolson 15.97, 9. Heather Leverington 15.97, 10. Jenny Folz 15.36, 11. Leslie Vidmar 15.12, 12. Leann Boerema 14.84
Pole Vault preliminaries (qualifiers for final)
Melissa Mueller, Kellie Suttle, Jill Wittenwyler, Kristin Quackenbush, Alexa Harz, Paula Serrano, Mary Sauer, Tracy O'Hara, Lesa Kubishta, Erin Anderson, Aimee Crabtree, Shannon Pierson, Melissa Price, Alicia Warlick, Shannon Gallagher, Stacy Dragila, all at 4.02m
