Webb Makes Another Run to the Top

"Four or five of the top-10 throwers in the world are in America," Cantwell said. "Some people who could medal will be left home. I'm treating [the Olympic trials] as the Olympic Games. . . . We're peaking for it."

Back in Training

In what would be a remarkable comeback, U.S. gymnast and two-time Olympian Blaine Wilson hopes to compete at next weekend's U.S. championships in Nashville a mere 13 weeks after having had surgery to repair a torn biceps. Wilson said during a conference call last week that he had returned to training on all six events and would decide in which to compete before the championships, which will take place Wednesday through Saturday and will have some bearing on who makes the U.S. Olympic team.

Meantime, Gaithersburg's Courtney Kupets said she is back in top form after having had to drop out of last year's world championships because of an ankle injury.

Ten days ago, Kupets won the gold medal in an international all-around competition in Huntsville, Tex., at the Women's National Team Training Center on the grounds of the Karolyi ranch.

"I do feel like I'm fully back now," Kupets said. The time missed "might even be an advantage for me just because I was injured and now I can just bring it back up."

One More Chance

The District's Aquil Abdullah and double scull partner Harry Nuzum fell short this weekend in their attempt to secure a qualifying spot in Athens during a world cup meet in Munich, but their hopes are not dashed yet.

Abdullah and Nuzum on Friday finished fourth in their semifinal heat behind Slovenia, France and Hungary, missing a chance to advance to the "A" Final with a top-three finish. The pair would have then had to finish in the top four overall to earn a trip to Athens. As it stands, they will have one more chance at the June 26-July 1 Olympic trials in Princeton, N.J. The top finisher at that event will advance to the Summer Games. . . .

U.S. quarter-miler Calvin Harrison was among five U.S. athletes to test positive for the sleep-disorder drug modafinil (two more tested positive for modafinil and the steroid THG) last season, but he is facing a two-year suspension rather than the public warning issued to the other four because he took cold medication at a junior meet 11 years ago.

USADA informed Harrison and his attorney, Edward Williams, that it considered the modafinil positive a second drug offense mandating a two-year ban because he tested positive for pseudoephedrine in 1993. Pseudoephedrine, which is commonly found in over-the-counter cold medication, was removed this winter from the International Olympic Committee's list of banned drugs.