University of Tennessee Athletics
Former Vol Justin Gatlin Advances to 100-meter Semifinal
August 21, 2004 | Men's Track
Aug. 21, 2004
ATHENS, Greece
Former Vol Justin Gatlin authored a strong first day to his Olympic experience by sprinting easily through the first two rounds of competition in the 100-meter dash Saturday in Athens, Greece. However, Gary Kikaya's [pronounced Kik-KIE-uh] and Anthony Famiglietti's [pronounced Fam-uh-LET-tee] Olympic quest concluded earlier than either former Vol wanted.
Gatlin ran with the world's best in the first and quarterfinal rounds of the 100. In the first round, Gatlin won the third heat with a 10.07 qualifier. His 10.07 stood as the third-fastest overall among 84 first-round competitors. Training partner and fellow American Shawn Crawford's 10.02 ranked as the fastest in the first round. Rounding out the American trio, Maurice Greene also breezed through the first round with a heat-winning 10.18, the 12th-fastest first round time overall.
"It was about the easiest 100 run in my life," Gatlin said. "I've never competed here, but, coming here, I had a strong feeling I had been here before. The track, the crowd, the stadium, they all felt familiar. Technically my run was OK, but there are other rounds to come where you must concentrate more on the little things. Now it feels good, I am ready to do whatever is necessary to win a medal.
In the 100 quarterfinals, Gatlin revved up the engines even more. Gatlin won the third quarterfinal heat after a mid-race surge stopped the clock at a torrid 9.96. Gatlin's 9.96 ranked fourth among the 40 quarterfinalists. Team USA continued to steamroll as all three American 100 men submarined the 10-second barrier and placed in the top four overall. Crawford's 9.89 led all quarterfinalists. Greene's 9.93 was also a heat winner and tied for the second-fastest quarterfinal time.
"I feel like I'm running on air out there," Gatlin said. "I moved strongly through my race. First race I worked on my middle part. This time I worked on my end. I just pulled away from the field. It felt great. I felt strong. ... The smart ones are going to get in the finals. You've got to know what you're going to do through the rounds, and you're going to be in the finals.
Kikaya never found his top-flight form in Athens. After advancing from the first round of the 400 Friday, Kikaya's 14th-place finish in the semifinals missed the cut for Sunday's final. Kikaya, who was not pleased with his first round race and time of 45.57 Friday, ran Saturday's 14th-fastest semifinal time in a nearly identical 45.58. Kikaya, running for the Democratic Republic of Congo, finished sixth in the first and fastest of three semifinal heats.
American and 2004 world leader Jeremy Wariner won Kikaya's heat with a 44.87, the fastest time of the 24 semifinalists. American Otis Harris ran a 44.99 to post the third-fastest semifinal effort. Team USA member Derrick Brew won his heat in 45.05, the sixth-fastest semifinal time overall, to easily advance to the finals. Americans Wariner, Harris and Brew have reserved three of the eight lanes for Sunday's final.
Famiglietti ran into a patch of bad luck in the steeplechase semifinal. Competing for Team USA, Famiglietti banged his left knee on one of the steeplechase hurdles and couldn't muster the time necessary to advance to the final. Still Famiglietti persevered and finished the 3,000-meter race in 8:31.59, the eighth-best time in heat three and 26th-best time overall. Coached by Tennessee assistant George Watts, Famiglietti's other steeplechase times this summer would have easily have made the cut.
"I took a first step down [after hitting his knee], and I knew it wasn't right," Famiglietti said. "Then I took a second step down, and I kept wondering how long is this [his knee] going to go. I was jumping all the hurdles and landing on this leg, and I thought I was going to collapse. But, you know what, it's an Olympic race and I wasn't going to give up for anything. If my leg would have fallen off, I would have hopped in.
Kenya's Brimin Kipruto led all steeplechase qualifiers with a fast 8:15.11 effort. American steeplechaser Daniel Lincoln advanced to the finals with a time of 8:19.62, the day's eighth-best time. However, the third American in the steeplechase, Robert Gary, missed the cut for the finals with an 8:38.01 time, the day's 32nd fastest.
Gatlin headlines Sunday's action for the Tennessee contingent. He races in the 100 semifinal Sunday afternoon. If he advances to the final, he will sprint in the race to crown the world's fastest man later Sunday afternoon. On Monday and Tuesday, former Vol Tom Pappas joins in the decathlon to crown the world's best all-around athlete.
Sunday, Aug. 22 (All times EDT)
1:55 p.m. Justin Gatlin, 100m dash (semifinal)
4:10 p.m. *Justin Gatlin, 100m dash (final)
* If Gatlin advances from 100 semifinal.
