ROME, 14 July 2006 — Athletics’ newest star Xavier Carter takes his first steps on the big stage when he faces Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner in the 400 meters at Rome’s Golden Gala meeting today.
Carter was virtually unknown in Europe until Tuesday when he sped round the outside lane in Lausanne to win the 200 meters in a time of 19.63 seconds — the second-fastest ever behind Michael Johnson’s 1996 world record of 19.32 seconds.
Carter, a 20-year-old student from Louisiana State University, had picked up his first passport only two weeks earlier, having put his career as an American footballer on hold to concentrate on athletics.
His run in Lausanne slashed almost a third of a second off his previous best, a performance that left him as surprised as everybody else.
“I still don’t know much about athletics,” Carter was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport today.
“Until a few days ago my experience in this world was limited to school and university races.
“The most important thing for me was that I improved my time, but I know I can go faster because in the last few months I haven’t done any specific training for the distance.” On Friday he returns to the one-lap event.
His personal best for the distance is 44.53 seconds — well behind the mark of 43.91 Wariner set in Paris last week.
But having taken such a big stride forward in the 200 meters, Carter will be hoping for a similar improvement in the longer race.
Wariner, meanwhile, has more than pride at stake. The Texan is still in contention for a share of the $1million jackpot that goes to anyone who wins their event at all six Golden League meetings.
Another athlete aiming for a piece of the jackpot is sprinter Asafa Powell.
The Jamaican, who shares the world record of 9.77 seconds with America’s Justin Gatlin, comes to Rome in superb form, having won the 100 meters at the previous Golden League meeting in Paris in 9.85.
Among the women, Sanya Richards in the 400 meters and Tirunesh Dibaba in the 5000 will also aim to maintain their 100 percent winning record in Golden League events this season. In the 100, former world and Olympic champion Marion Jones will be aiming to build on her 10.92-second run in Paris, which was her fastest time in four years.
