By Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
SYDNEY, Australia ““ Bruins excel not only in team sports
such as softball, volleyball, soccer and water polo, but are
typically some of the higher profile athletes in individual sports,
as well.
The most visible Bruins are in track and field, which featured
11 UCLA athletes this year.
Ato Boldon, representing Trinidad & Tobago, was the most
successful Bruin, winning silver in the 100 meters and bronze in
the 200m.
Boldon clocked the fastest qualifying time in the 200m at 20.52
seconds, and was the favorite entering the final as well, but lost
to surprise winner Konstantinos Kenteris of Greece. Kenteris was
the first man from his country to win a sprinting gold since the
ancient Olympics. Darren Campbell of Great Britain placed
second.
“I didn’t do what I came here to do, which was win a
gold medal,” Boldon said in a TV interview after the 200m
race. “I’m happy and disappointed at the same time
.”
Andrea Anderson was UCLA’s only track and field gold medal
winner, helping the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team defeat Jamaica and
the Russian Federation teams.
Shot putter John Godina was the first Bruin to medal in Sydney,
earning the bronze with a throw of 69-6 3/4.
Other Bruins who competed were Amy Acuff in the high jump,
Shelia Burrell in the heptathalon, Gail Devers in the 100 meter
hurdles, Mebrahtom Keflezighi in the 10,000, Suzy Powell and
Seilala Sua in the discus, and Nada Kawar, who hurled the shot put
for Jordan.
Shakedia Jones was an alternate in the 400m relay. Dawn Dumble
made the national team but did not have an Olympic qualifying toss
in the shot put and Bridget Pearson was Ireland’s best pole
vaulter, but did not meet the qualifying Olympic height.
Keflezighi was one of the youngest runners in the field and
managed a personal-best time of 27:53.63, good enough for 12th
place.
Devers was also slated to run in the 400m relay, but pulled her
hamstring in a qualifying round of the hurdles.
UCLA also sent five beach volleyballers to the Olympics, two
from the men’s side and three for the women.
USA’s Kevin Wong, teaming with Rob Heidger, lost in the
quarterfinals, a much higher finish than many expected.
Competing for Norway, Bjorn Maaseide was eliminated by Wong and
Heidger on the third day of the tournament.
Both USA women’s teams were expected to contend for
medals, but both disappointed. UCLA’s Annett Buckner Davis
and Jenny Johnson Jordan teamed together and lost in the
quarterfinals to a Japan.
UCLA’s Holly McPeak paired up with Misty May (Long Beach
State) to form a medal favorite duo but also lost in the
quarterfinals to a team from Brazil.
Four freshman made the U.S. and Canadian national gymnastics
teams, two of them alternates. Kristen Maloney and Jamie Dantzscher
competed for the United States, but neither earned a medal. Alyssa
Beckerman and Yvonne Tousek were alternates for the U.S. and
Canada, respectively.
The U.S. team improved from a poor showing at qualifying that
saw them barely squeeze into finals, and rebounded there to place
fourth overall.
“I think we went in there with a different
attitude,” Maloney said. “We just wanted to go out
there and have fun.”
Asked if she was disappointed with a fourth-place showing,
Maloney responded in the negative.
“We did about the best we could, and we were happy,”
she said.
Steve McCain of the disbanded UCLA men’s gymnastics (1993)
placed fifth in the high and parallel bars, but missed the team
all-around due to a sprained ankle.
Other Bruins who competed in individual events include current
junior Marilyn Chua, who finished third in her qualifying heat of
the 50m freestyle, which was not good enough to advance to the next
round.
Tawny Banh competed on the U.S. table tennis team, and Mark
Knowles of the Bahamas dropped a heartbreaker in doubles tennis,
losing to the fifth-seeded team from South Africa in the
quarterfinals, 4-6, 6-2, 14-12.
Sally Scovel was an alternate for the U.S. rowing squad.
Although Bruin individuals only earned four medals, UCLA still
tied the University of Texas for the most overall medals by one
school with 18.