University of Tennessee Athletics
Gatlin and Mack Qualify for Finals at Olympics
August 25, 2004 | Men's Track
Aug. 25, 2004
ATHENS, Greece - Justin Gatlin and Tim Mack, the last of the former Vols competing at the Olympics, rode strong performances to reserve berths in the 200-meter dash and pole vault finals, respectively, Wednesday at Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.
Gatlin's 20.35 time proved strong enough to win his heat and rank third overall in Wednesday's 200 semifinal. Running in the second and last semifinal heat, Gatlin shut down the burners for the last 20 meters of the race to break the tape just ahead of Portugal's Francis Obikwelu (20.36). The semifinals whittled 16 sprinters down to eight for the final.
"I feel all right," Gatlin said. "I feel pretty good. I just wanted to execute the curve -- make sure I had the lead so I would have a good lane in the finals. We want to go out there and sweep, and that's our goal. They (U.S. teammates in the 400) put on a good show, and we want to put on a good show."
Three of the eight finals lanes will be reserved for Americans, as Shawn Crawford and Bernard Williams ruled the first semifinal heat. Crawford posted the day's fastest time in 20.05 to earn his berth. Williams crossed in 20.18, the day's second-fastest time overall.
After posting the most consistent and impressive summer of his career, Mack remained on task by notching an automatic qualifier of 18 feet, 8 1/4 inches in the pole vault. In the pole vault's first round, Mack began his day with a clearance on his first attempt at 18-0 1/2. Mack followed the bar up to 18-4 1/2 and again cleared on his first attempt. With two clearances under his belt, Mack passed on the next bar at 18-6 1/2. Mack missed his first try at the automatic-qualifying height of 18-8 1/4. However, he cleared 18-8 1/4 on his second attempt to earn his spot in Friday's final. Though all the qualifiers cleared 18-8 1/4, Mack ranked 11th based on his miss.
"Awesome, personally it couldn't have gone any better," Mack said. "It went as planned. I had two warm-up jumps and I got through each height pretty much as planned. I had a little glitch at 18-8, but I think it was a little bit more because the crowd went nuts and I got a little bit excited and my run got a little short."
A swollen field of 16 vaulters cleared 18-8 1/4 to survive the first round. All three U.S. vaulters moved on to the finals, as world leader Toby Stevenson and Derek Miles also earned automatic qualifiers. However, the American team is not the only team to qualify intact. The German and Ukrainian pole vault trios also made the finals.
"I'm pumped that all three Americans got in there because we can go into the final with a little bit more energy within ourselves, and that helps when you have a team out there," Mack said. "We're all going to be competing against each other, don't get me wrong, but we're also going to help each other out as much as we can."
Running in his eighth race since Saturday, Gatlin will try to coax his legs to keep churning with a gold medal on the line Thursday in the 200 final. On Friday, Mack again takes flight for the pole vault final. If Team USA's coaching staff selects him, Gatlin will report for duty in the 4x100 relay prelims Friday. If the U.S. 4x100 quartet survives the prelims, the Americans will line up in the finals Saturday in the last competition opportunity for a former Vol at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Thursday, Aug. 26 (All times EDT)
3:50 p.m. Justin Gatlin, 200m dash (final)
Friday, Aug. 27
1 p.m. Tim Mack, pole vault (final)
1:10 p.m. ^Justin Gatlin, 4x100m relay (first round)
Saturday, Aug. 28
2:45 p.m. ^*Justin Gatlin, 4x100m relay (final)
* If U.S. 4x100 relay advances from first round.
^ If Team USA coaches select Justin Gatlin from 4x100 relay pool.
