Monday, August 3, 1998
Bruins strut stuff at Games
GAMES: Eight UCLA athletes join world-class competition to
benefit Boys & Girls Clubs
By Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Staff
Eight current or former Bruins are competing for prize money and
international glory in this year’s Goodwill Games, held in New
York, N.Y.
Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi, one of the most decorated collegiate
long distance runners of all time, finished the 10,000-meter race
as the second American to cross the finish line and sixth
overall.
"The heat and humidity was a big problem for me," Keflezighi
said. "After 78 laps, I got a stitch while trying to re-hydrate
myself in the heat. In the future I know not to do that, but other
than that it was a fine race."
Meb finished his first significant professional race behind a
trio of Kenyan runners and American Daniel Browne with a time of
29:57.80. Meb, who has completed his four years of athletic
eligibility, will continue to attend UCLA in order to obtain a
degree in communication studies.
John Godina was the most successful Bruin at the Games, bringing
home a gold and bronze medal. Godina threw the discus 62.84 meters
to earn the bronze medal, then followed up that performance with a
toss of 21.45 meters to take home the gold medal in the shot put –
all in a span of about two hours.
Godina said it best when he told reporters, "Being in the discus
didn’t affect my shot put performance."
Dawn Dumble, Godina’s counterpart in the shot put and discus on
the women’s side, earned a fifth-place finish in the discus and the
eighth spot in the shot put.
Former UCLA women’s soccer head coach Joy Fawcett was a key
member of the gold-medal winning United States soccer team. The
U.S. team beat Denmark 5-0 in the first round, and then defeated
the Chinese team by a score of 2-0 to win the championship. The
U.S. Women’s Soccer team now has a 38-game winning streak and is
the defending Olympic gold medal winners.
Senior Josh Johnson finished sixth in the javelin with a throw
of 73.60 meters. Competing in the Goodwill Games has special
meaning for Johnson, because his father, Rafer, set a world record
in the decathlon during the-first ever dual track meet between the
United States and the Soviet Union in 1958.
In other events featuring UCLA athletes, Amy Acuff finished
third in the high jump with a leap of 1.93 meters, Gentry Bradley
finished seventh in the 200m and Sheila Burrell won the 100m
hurdles portion of the heptathalon, but could only manage 5,098
points, good enough for eighth in the overall standings.
Two former Bruins who also made an impact at the Goodwill Games
were Ato Boldon and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
"The Goodwill Games are where the world’s best athletes prove
it," explained Boldon. He grabbed the gold in the 200-meters with a
time of 20.15 seconds, and took home a silver medal, running the
100-meters in 10 seconds flat. Joyner-Kersee, known as the First
Lady of Track, continued her domination on the track, winning the
heptathalon comfortably.
American teammate and fellow Bruin Burrell said, "I think Jackie
is the greatest athlete in the world and I want to be just like
her. I took eighth place, but I’m still very happy."
The Goodwill Games were the brainchild of Ted Turner. He staged
the first Goodwill Games in Moscow in 1986 in an effort to warm up
relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Subsequent Games have followed in Seattle, Wash., in 1990 and St.
Petersburg, Russia, in 1994.
The 1998 Goodwill Games are the fourth edition of the event, and
feature some changes from previous Games. Scheduled for July 19
through Aug. 2 in the New York metropolitan area (Manhattan and
Long Island), the Games will showcase 12 of the most popular
sports. Approximately 1,300 of the world’s best athletes from more
than 60 countries will vie for the $5 million in prize money, with
record and performance incentives. This represents the largest
purse in multi-sport event history.
The Goodwill Games have re-defined "goodwill" for the event. The
world’s situation has changed since the Games were first held in
Moscow in 1986, and the original impetus for founding the Games no
longer exists. The Games have re-focused their mission to benefit
children. To achieve this goal, the Games have joined forces with
the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, enabling the Games to assist
children through involvement in sports.
The Games’ "gold medal" format – with virtually no preliminary
rounds – positions the Goodwill Games to "unite the world’s best"
athletes in world-class competition. The top-ranked athletes and
teams in the world are invited to participate in the Games based on
performances at world championships and other major international
competitions in each sport, as well as from the Olympic Games.
MARY CIECEK
Mebrahtom Keflezighi