Johnson and Greene Pull Up Lame

S A C R A M E N T O, Calif., July 23, 2000 -- — In the most anticipated showdown intrack and field in three years, Michael Johnson and Maurice Greeneboth pulled up lame in the final of the 200 meters at the U.S.Olympic trials today.

The winner of the final was 1999 NCAA champion John Capel ofFlorida in 19.85 seconds, with Floyd Heard second in 19.88 and CobyMiller third in 19.96. The three men qualified to run for the U.S. 200-meter team at the Sydney Olympics.

Johnson and Greene’s injuries mean neither will run the 200 at the Sydney Olympics.

However, Johnson, the world record-holder and Olympic gold medalist, has qualified for the 400 and will run the 1,600 relay, if he recovers.

Greene, the 200 world champion, will be in the 100 and 400 relay, also if he is healthy.

Anticlimax

The race, the final event at the trials, proved anticlimacticafter a huge buildup, which included as much trash-talking as hasever been seen in a track and field event.

Going into the race, Johnson was nursing a tender rightquadriceps, but it was his left quadriceps that forced him to quitabout 80 meters into the race.

It was evident that when Johnson came out of the blocks, hewasn't healthy. He started much slower than usual, began slowingeven more at 50 meters, then struggled another 20 to 30 metersbefore crumpling to the track.

He was removed from the track on a cart.

Greene began limping with about 100 meters left, grabbed for theback of his left leg, started to slow further and stopped shortlyafter.

He then walked toward the finish line, and had his lefthamstring wrapped in ice.

“I didn't know what had happened until I looked up at thescreen and saw Michael lying on the ground,” said the winner, Capel. “I hope he's all right for the Olympics. That’s a terrible way to lose.”

After the two won their opening-round heats today, they weredrawn into the same heat alongside each other for today’ssemifinals.

Johnson won his opening-round heat at 19.89 seconds, the second-fastest in theworld this year, behind only his 19.71, despite experiencing aslight cramp.

Greene had to struggle to win his heatat 20.29.

Placing Bets

The buildup for today’s race was so intense that even Las Vegas had booked odds on the Johnson-Greene showdown just like a heavyweight fight between two great warriors.

And an Internet service conducted a poll on the race,similar to a presidential election.

Not since Johnson’s ill-fated 150-meter, $2 million match raceagainst Canada’s Donovan Bailey in 1997 has track been so rife withanticipation — or so much trash-talking.

But if ever a sport needed a shot of adrenaline, it’s track in theUnited States. Johnson vs. Greene had seemed just the kick.

There was no guarantee that the two main characters would get ontothe track together. But Johnson was the 5-7 betting favorite, according to a Las Vegas book. The odds on Greene winning were 6-5.

The Internet poll also favored Johnson, with 84 percent of therespondents saying he will win, 14 percent choosing Greene and 2percent favoring one of the other six finalists. Before today's race, commentators likened picking anyone other than Johnson or Greene to betting on the Cubs to win the World Series or the Clippers to win the NBA Finals.

Sprinting Showdown

The showdown had been building since the two supreme sprinterswere supposed to meet at the 1999 USA Championships in Eugene,Ore., where Johnson withdrew at the last minute because of injury.

Greene wasted no time in contending that Johnson was duckinghim. Johnson countered by saying he was legitimately hurt.

The trash-talking intensified right from the first day of thetrials last week. After Greene won his opening-round heat in the100 meters, he yelled, “Get Michael Johnson — that’s what I want to do.”

The 32-year-old Johnson called Greene, who turned 26 today,“immature” and “disrespectful,” and their verbal exchanges became nastier and nastier.

Strength vs. Speed

A true showdown was expected today, when Greene, thetwo-time world champion, world record-holder and trials winner inthe 100, lined up against Johnson, the Olympic champion and worldrecord-holder in both the 200 and 400.

It was seen as a battle of strength and experience (Johnson)against speed and youthful exuberance (Greene). Johnson’s best timefor the 200 is 19.32 seconds, the world record he set at theAtlanta Games. Greene’s fastest time is 19.86, run in 1997.

Greene hasn’t run the 200 often, but he did last year and wonthe world title and was ranked No. 1 in the world, just ahead ofJohnson, who had ruled the race for years.