September 27, 2000
Page B3
(Tfyp ^Jortlanò (Observer
U urllanù
(Obatrucr
Metro/Sports
HB
■M M M
Michael Johnson Gets His Gold in Sidney
T he U nited States w ent o ff the
gold standard years ago, but M ichael
Johnson never has.
T he sprinter w ith the M idas touch
added to his personal gold reserve
M onday w hen he becam e the first
m an to w in back-to-back O lym pic
gold m edals in the 400 meters.
In a rem arkable 11-year career as
one o f the w o rld ’s elite track and
fie ld a th le te s , J o h n s o n , w h o se
O lym pic signature has been his daz
zling gold running shoes, has never
w on anything but gold medals.
O n M onday, he w on his fourth
O lym pic gold m edal. Johnson, who
has lived in D allas his entire life
except for his four years at Baylor
U niversity, also has a record nine
gold m edals from the W orld Track
and Field Cham pionships.
" In 1990, w hen I finished univer
sity, m y coach, C lyde Hart, and 1 sat
dow n and talked about w hat we
w anted to ac c o m p lish ,” Johnson
said. “ It’s good to know w e can sit
back and say w e accom plished ev
erything w e set out to do.”
John so n ’s w inning tim e o f 43.84
seconds d id n ’t approach his world
record o f 43.18 he set in the 1999
W orld C ham pionships or even the
O lym pic record o f 43.49 set four
years ago.
But the w eather in Sydney has
been cooler than sprinters like, and
this w as a strategically conservative
race planned to ensure that he won
the gold m edal in w hat he said w ould
be
h is
la s t
O ly m p ic s .
"T o d a y ’s race w as a lot m ore co n
servative than it w ould have been if
the w eather had been better and there
w as a ch a n ce to b reak a w o rld
record,” Johnson said. “But you have
to ta k e ch a n ce s to b reak w orld
records, and I co u ld n ’t take a chance
w ith the w ay A lvin [Harrison] was
running and the w ay Greg [Haughton]
w as running.”
H arrison, Jo h n so n ’s U.S. team
m ate, finished second in 44.40 to
take the silver medal. Haughton, a
Jam aican who has been Jo h n so n ’s
training partner under Hart the past
tw o years, took the bronze in 44.70.
Johnson will run in the 4x400-
m eter relay later this w eek in what
certainly will be his last O lym pic
race. But he h asn ’t decided whether
it w ill be his last race o f all or
w hether h e’ll try for a fifth consecu
tive w orld cham pionship next year
’’Right now I ’ m going to take some
tim e o ff before I decide w hat my
plans are for the future,” he said. “ At
this point, I’m not thinking about the
W orldC ham pionships next year. I’m
thinking about getting back to my
w ife and son tonight. I h av en ’t seen
them for a few days.”
Jo h n so n ’s wife, K erry; his par
ents, Paul and Ruby; his brother and
three sisters; Hart; and Jo h n so n ’s
physical therapist, Dale Sm ith o f
D allas, w ere all on hand to share the
m om ent with him.
Johnson was the undisputed star
o f the Olym pics four years ago, when
he becam e the first m an to w in the
200 and 400. He set a w orld record
o f 19.32 seconds for the 200. This
tim e, Johnson has been som ew hat
overshadowed by M arion Jones, who
is trying to win five gold m edals, and
A u stralian C ath y F reem an, w ho
m om ents before Jo h n so n ’s race won
the w om en’s 400 and becam e the
first A borigine to w in an individual
m edal in the O lympics.
But Johnson d id n ’t m ind being
out o f the glare o f the spotlight. He
said he enjoyed not having the pres
sure o f trying to be the first to win
the two events he w on in ’96.
”1 knew com ing in that this would
not be the same type o f situation as
A tlanta,” Johnson said. “That was a
once-in-a-lifetim e situation. A nd,
honestly, it is som ething I w ould not
w ant to go through again. Cathy and
M arion, these G am es are theirs.”
■ H B M R M a M H H K M B I
Disappointing
Diagnosis for
Injured Player
A B eaverton H igh School foot
ball player w ho suffered a serious
spine injury on the field Friday
night w ill be paralyzed from the
neck down.
D octor R andall Chesnutt an
nounced that diagnosis M onday,
a full day after Kris T yake under
w e n t a s ix - h o u r s u r g e r y at
D oem becher C h ild ren ’s H ospi
tal.
T h e b o y ’s f a th e r, D a rre ll
Tyacke, said the fam ily is trying
to “look at the pitcher as half-full,
Sonics Hope Ewing’s the Answer
not half-em pty,” w hen deciding
w hat steps to take next.
The elder Tyake thanked the com
munity for the' ‘incredible support’ ’ the
family has received since Kris was
in ju red
on
Friday.
Tyacke ran an option around the right
end in the first quarter tind landed awk
wardly when a Glencoe defender tack
led him. The defender reached to help
him up, but Tyacke didn’t move.
Param edics secured Tyacke onto
a flat board, cutting o ff his jersey,
pads and m ask. T hey said he was
aw ake and talking as they m oved
him from the field to the hospital.
He spent six hours in surgery, but
doctors were unable to restore feeling
and control in most o f his body.
T he Seattle SuperSonics a re n ’t
m aking any guarantees to their fans.
Or
to
P a tr ic k
E w in g .
W ith the ad d itio n o f Ew ing, the
Sonics have a starting center to go
w ith G a ry P a y to n , V in B a k er,
R ashard L ew is and B rent Barry.
But even w ith the 38-year-old Ewing
playing w ell, the Sonics are still
looking up at the best in the W estern
C onference, the defending cham
pion Los A ngeles Lakers and the
P ortland Trail Blazers.
’’W e’ve got to w orry about w hat
helps the Sonics,” general manager
W ally W alk er said after the 12-
player, four-team trade W ednesday
brought Seattle its first legitim ate
starting center since Jack Sikm a,
who w as traded to M ilw aukee after
the 1986 season..”
It’s not w ithout risk because o f
P atrick’s age and injuries, but we
felt w e had to take a risk to get a
center,” W alker added.
The Sonics m ade it to the NBA
finals against M ichael Jordan and
Chicago in 1996. But they d id n ’t
have a true center, making do with
Shaw n K em p and Sam P erkins.
A year ago, the Sonics w ere one o f
the sm allest teams. T hey tried to
m atch up w ith Shaquille O ’N eal o f
the Lakers and R asheed W allace o f
the Trail Blazers w ith B aker and
H orace Grant, two pow er forwards,
as their big men. It was a mismatch.
D esp ite P a y to n ’s six th stra ig h t
A ll-S ta r season, they fin ish ed sev
en th in the W est and w ere elim i
nated in the first round o f the p lay
o ffs .
B u t is E w ing the an sw er? He
n ev e r w on a ch am p io n sh ip in N ew
Y o rk an d is head ed into his 16th
N B A seaso n w ith creaky knees and
a su rg ica lly rep aired w rist He had
a m in o r knee o p eratio n in June.
A g ain st Indiana in the Eastern C o n
fe re n c e fin a ls la st se a s o n , th e
K n ick s w ere 2-0 w hen E w ing sat
out injured and 0-4 w hen he played.
Ew ing has one year rem aining on
a $ 6 0 m illio n , f o u r- y e a r c o n
tr a c t an d has s a id h e w o u ld lik e
to p la y tw o m o re y e a rs b e y o n d
th e 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 1 s e a s o n . T h e
K n ic k s d id n ’t w a n t h im b e y o n d
next
seaso n .
’’T h e b o tto m lin e is h e fe lt to
ta lly d is re s p e c te d a n d h e f e lt it
w as tim e fo r h im to m o v e o n ,”
E w in g ’s frie n d , A lo n z o M o u rn
ing, said from the Sydney O lym pics.
Ew ing will earn $14 m illion next
season. The Sonics m ade it clear
h e ’s going to have to play w ell to get
another contract.
on s
reliance on modems, wireless
W estport
have added a
Jew ell •
new 971 area code to the 503 area. This kind of change is not just occurring in
F orest
G rove
• V an c o u v er
Portland
Oregon, hut throughout the country. And Because the new codes differ in format from
previous codes that contained either a ‘1’ or a ‘0’ in the second digit, you should check
all specialized Central Office-based systems for compatibility. Some of these systems
may require reprogramming or upgrading. Cellular phones must be reprogrammed by
G rande R onde
your cellular service provider.
* Salem
To test your equipment, call the new Oregon area code test line at
c new area
1-800-000-0000. If
code, please call your operator to assist you in placing your c
The Oregon Telecommunications Association and Your Local Telecommunications Providers
s'
u
1