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Jamaica's Fraser joins Bolt as Olympic 100m champ
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-18 09:51 Richards could be part of a stronger upcoming presence for the Americans, with the potential for a sweep in Monday's men's 400-meter hurdles. Still, it'll be tough to top what Jamaica already has done -- and make track and field at these Olympics be remembered as anything other than Jamaica's coming-out party, replete with reggae music echoing through the stadium. Fraser called it a "crazy Bolt Effect." Bolt talks about his love of dancing and preparing for the biggest moment of his life with a combination of TV watching, nap taking and chicken-nugget eating.
Fraser bared her braces with a wide, gee-whiz smile when her name was announced over the loudspeakers as the contestants waited to fold themselves into the starting blocks for the final. It was a striking contrast to the total lack of expression on the faces of Edwards and Williams. Bolt and Fraser were both relatively unheralded in the individual 100 before this season. They also share an age -- and now so much more. Like Bolt, Fraser celebrated before her work was done, cocking her fist back over her shoulder and punching the air as she arrived at the finish line. Nothing on the scale of Bolt's arms-extended, palms-up, chest-slapping display, mind you, but an in-stride, in-race celebration nonetheless. And, also like Bolt, Fraser won by a whopping two-tenths of a second, a significant margin in such a short race, and the largest in the women's Olympic 100 final since 1988, when Florence Griffith-Joyner broke the world record to win gold. "When I was thinking about it, I was getting ahead of myself," Fraser said about clutching a gold medal. "I was like, 'Calm down. First you need to go out there and do it.'" Her win came less than two hours after Bolt was back in the Bird's Nest to accept his medal. Coming Friday is the final of the women's 400-meter relay, where the Jamaicans figure to be big favorites: Not only do they have the top three finishers in the individual 100, but now they get to add Veronica Campbell-Brown, the reigning world champion in the dash. Campbell-Brown failed to qualify in the individual event at the Jamaican trials. Her spot essentially went to Fraser, who didn't have a 100 under 11.3 seconds on her resume before this year. Back in Fraser's rough Kingston neighborhood, an area notorious for gang violence, people danced in the streets, banged pots together and waved their country's green-yellow-and-black flags. "I can't wait," Fraser said, "to get home." In other finals Sunday, Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele (men's 10,000 meters) and Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone (women's triple jump) successfully defended their titles from the 2004 Olympics. Sileshi Sihine gave Ethiopia a 1-2 finish behind Bekele's new Olympic record, but two-time champion Haile Gebrselassie -- who cited concerns about pollution in opting not to enter the marathon -- finished sixth. The second world record of the 10-day Olympic track meet came in the Olympic debut of the 3,000-meter women's steeplechase. Gulnara Galkina-Samitova of Russia became the first woman to go under 9 minutes and clipped more than 2 1/2 seconds off her own mark that had stood since July 2004, finishing in 8:58.81. Galkina-Samitova smiled broadly as she covered the final 50 meters all alone. Her reaction was nowhere near as exuberant as those of Bolt and Fraser, who appear to have just the sort of speed and personalities to help their sport overcome its recent doldrums. Track's profile has declined in part due to a spate of drug cases, and Sunday brought word that reigning women's 400-meter hurdles champion Fani Halkia of Greece tested positive for a banned substance and will not defend her title. |
