SACRAMENTO, California, 18 July 2004 — Olympic champion Marion Jones eased through the quarterfinals of the women’s 200 meters after Shawn Crawford ran the fastest men’s 200 of the year at the US Olympic trials on Friday.
Jones qualified 10th of 18 advancers in a pedestrian 22.93 seconds as she began her bid to return to the Olympic Games in Athens next month in one of the three events she won in Sydney four years ago.
Crawford, already the fastest man in the world this season in the 100 meters, added that honor in the 200 with a stunning first-round performance of 19.88 seconds. “It felt pretty good,” Crawford said, downplaying his time. “It’s just a preliminary. I’ve got three more rounds to go.” Jones, who won the trials long jump on Thursday, looked strong around the curve in her 200 meters race. Then she began to slow and dropped her pace dramatically in the last 60 meters. She wound up last in her race, apparently shutting down because she knew she had advanced. She did not speak to the media afterward. Torri Edwards, who has tested positive for a stimulant and faces a two-year ban that would keep her out of the Olympics, had the fastest time of the women, 22.60 seconds.
Olympic trials 100 meters winner LaTasha Colander pulled out of the 200, as did Olympic relay medalist Chryste Gaines, who has been charged with a doping offense by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Colander’s coach Trevor Graham told Reuters that his star sprinter “quit on me”. Colander was not available for comment. Graham’s charges in the men’s race made him much happier.
Justin Gatlin, the 100 meters runner-up, won the first preliminary in 20.06 seconds. Then Crawford, the third-place finisher in the 100, blazed his clocking of 19.88 seconds. He missed his lifetime best by three-hundredths of a second. World champion Tom Pappas led the decathlon after five events, but only by three points. He scored 4,474 points with Bryan Clay second at 4,471 points. Olympic champion Stacy Dragila topped qualifying in the women’s pole vault at 4.25 meters. In finals, Deena Drossin Kastor won the women’s 10,000 meters in 31 minutes, 9.65 seconds. Tim Broe finished first in the men’s 5,000 meters in 13:27.36.
US Sprinter Grimes
Fails Dope Test
US sprinter Mickey Grimes has failed a doping test for a banned substance, a source told Reuters on Friday. The source, who has knowledge of the case, refused to name the substance.
Grimes refused to comment after winning his 200 meters preliminary in 20.39 seconds at the US Olympic Trials in Sacramento. He advanced to quarterfinals. The Chicago Tribune reported on its website that Grimes had failed a test for norandrosterone in out-of-competition testing by the International Association of Athletics Federations on May 25 in Los Angeles. IAAF officials did not return telephone calls on Friday.
Grimes faces a lifetime ban if found guilty of a doping violation since it would be his second positive. He was stripped of his 2003 Pan American Games 100 meters gold medal after testing positive for the stimulant ephedrine.
His agent Emanuel Hudson would not confirm the positive test. “I can not confirm or deny that,” Hudson told Reuters. Grimes is the third member of HSInternational reportedly to have failed a doping test.
Published reports on Friday said hurdler Larry Wade had also tested positive for norandrosterone. Sprinter Torri Edwards confirmed on Thursday she had tested positive in April for a stimulant that could keep her out of next month’s Olympic Games in Athens.
Edwards was runner-up in the women’s 100 meters at the US trials last week.
