Jamaica Delivers Knockout In the 100
Fraser Takes the Gold, Teammates Tie for Silver

By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 18, 2008

BEIJING, Aug. 17 -- Depending on your perspective, the Olympic track and field competition Sunday featured either a stunning sweep or a shocking shutout. For the second night in a row, a fun-loving and exuberant 21-year-old Jamaican speedster ran away from the field in the 100 meters.

Shelly-Ann Fraser, the youngest of Jamaica's sprinting youth movement, accelerated in the women's final much like countryman Usain Bolt did in shattering his world record Saturday. She even won by the same jaw-dropping margin: two-tenths of a second.

The difference a night later? She had company on her victory lap.

Fraser snatched the gold medal with the second-fastest time in Olympic history, 10.78 seconds, and was followed by countrywomen Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart. The night was so good for Jamaica, the nation didn't even have to settle for a bronze; the pair tied in 10.98 seconds. That meant two silvers, not one.

"What's gotten into Jamaica, man?" said Britain's Jeanette Kwayke, who finished sixth in 11.14. "I need to go there. They've been showing fantastic form all season."

Their dominance kept the U.S. women out of the medals in the event for the first time since 1976. (The United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Games and Marion Jones was stripped of her gold in 2000.) Though historic, the loss was hardly the day's only painful defeat. Americans failed to bring home a medal in any of six track and field finals Sunday, and saw the departure of one of their strongest medal hopes -- reigning world and Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat -- in the semifinals of the 1,500.

As Fraser beamed her mouthful of braces all over Beijing National Stadium, and yellow, black and green flags seemed to sprout out of nowhere, Americans Lauryn Williams, Muna Lee and Torri Edwards -- who finished fourth (11.03), fifth (11.07) and eighth (11.20), respectively, in the 100 final -- dipped their heads and ducked quickly off the track, as if to ensure they wouldn't have to watch others celebrate.

"I'm sure all of us came out here expecting to get on the medal stand," Edwards said. "None of us did that today, so I'm sure we're all disappointed."

The melancholy U.S. sprinters had company back at the Athletes' Village. Deena Kastor, the 2004 Olympic bronze medal winner in the marathon, was forced to pull out of the Sunday morning event because of a broken foot. Lagat, the reigning world champion, looked overpowered in his 1,500 heat and failed by two-hundredths of a second to make the final.

"I had my strategy going in but things didn't fall into place," Lagat said.

A day earlier, 100-meter world champion Tyson Gay also failed to advance out of the semifinals of his event.

Three days into the track and field competition, the United States has claimed one silver medal and four bronzes, including a surprising third from Shalane Flanagan in the women's 10,000 meters. But in many ways the U.S. team has lost more than it has won, seeing reigning world and Olympic medal winners unable to reach the medal stand in the shot put, and men's and women's 100, while mounting no challenge in the women's marathon and the upcoming 1,500 -- along with Lagat, U.S. flag bearer Lopez Lomong and Leonel Manzano also failed to make the final.

"We will bounce back," Lee said.

The frustration of being shut out in the 100 was enhanced by the circumstances of the race. Several runners, including the Jamaican Stewart, thought that Edwards had false-started and expected the field to be called back. Edwards said she, too, thought she had moved enough to result in the callback, but a protest by U.S. track officials was quickly denied.

"I felt like someone had false-started," Lee said. "It [stinks]."

Stewart, though, who had the second-slowest start, recovered far better than any of the Americans. The Jamaicans joined the Soviet Union, which won gold, silver and bronze in the women's 800 meters in 1980, with the second Olympic sweep in women's track and field history. It was made more mind-boggling by the absence of reigning world champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, who finished fourth at the Jamaican Olympic trials and failed to qualify for the event. The trio of victors was largely unknown before Sunday. Fraser's biggest previous achievement was her silver medal in the 4x100 relay at the world championships in Osaka, Japan, last summer.

She had not won the 100 at a major meet.

Wearing a yellow band in her hair and a full set of braces, Fraser giggled about her medal like a teenage schoolgirl who had just been asked to the prom. And forget mere smiles, Fraser laughed her way through dozens of interviews.

"I'm not nervous anymore," she declared, almost shouting to a group of reporters. "I'm not shy anymore. I'm just ready to run."

Then she howled with laughter.

Stewart, 24, finished seventh in the 100 in Osaka last year. Simpson, also 24, finished sixth in the event at the 2004 Summer Games. The Americans, meantime, brought some experience. Williams won the 2004 Olympic silver medal, and two world championship medals, including one gold. Edwards was the 2003 world champion, and Lee beat both of them at the Olympic trials.

"I don't know if I should cry, smile, jump, I don't know," Stewart said. "This is a fabulous thing for the three of us to win the medals and for Jamaica to get one-two-three. . . . It's about time. We've been waiting for this."

Bolt Advances

In his first race since setting a world record in the Olympic 100-meter final, Jamaica's Usain Bolt finished second -- in a first-round heat of the 200 meters.

As Bolt jogged to the finish at Beijing National Stadium Monday morning, Trinidad and Tobago's Rondell Sorillo raced him to the line, winning the heat in 20.58 seconds.

Bolt, who burst around the turn at the start, slowed over the last 100 meters and crossed the line easily in 20.64. The top three men in each heat advanced.

Bolt mugged for the cameras before the race, goofing around good naturedly as he had done before winning the 100 final Saturday in 9.69 seconds.

After the race, Bolt declined to speak with reporters. When he saw a television, he took off his gold track spikes and stood in bare feet watching the next 200 heat. Reporters hovered nearby.

As soon as he saw American Wallace Spearmon win his heat in 20.46, Bolt picked up his shoes and disappeared into an athletes' only area. Americans Walter Dix (20.77) and Shawn Crawford (20.61) also advanced.

"I think everybody is shooting to win," Crawford said. "I don't think everybody is shooting for anybody in particular."

Staff writer Michael Lee contributed to this report.