ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NASCAR | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

 Basketball
 Track & Field
 Gymnastics
 Swimming
 Soccer
 Volleyball
 Boxing
 Baseball
 Softball
 More Sports   

 Results
 Schedule
 Venues
 Photos
 Message Board






Schedule | Fan Guide | History | U.S. Roster   
Saturday, September 23
Men's eight failure the biggest surprise


PENRITH, Australia -- A thick morning fog that hung over the Sydney International Regatta Center finally cleared for the medal races. Yet U.S. boats never seemed to shake the haze.

A disappointing bronze medal in the lightweight women's double sculls wound up the lone bright spot Sunday (Saturday night EDT) for the Americans, who turned in two fifth-place finishes and two sixths.

Instead of leaving Sydney with the most medals since taking eight in Los Angeles, the United States -- the only team to qualify in all 14 events - won just two bronze and a silver -- the worst finish since 1972.

The U.S. performance was symbolized by the look of the women's eight crew following its race. Lianne Nelson had her head in her hands, while Sarah Jones, Amy Martin and Katie Maloney laid on their backs. Medical workers briefly worked on Maloney.

The biggest flop was the men's eight, which had won three straight world championships. With only one newcomer, hopes were high for a gold and at least a medal. They wound up fifth, 6.08 seconds behind the champion British.

This is the third straight Olympics that the men's eight has come home empty-handed, and that's a first. Americans won the event 11 of the first 14 times, including eight straight from 1920-56.

The really sad part is, the eight did the best of the four U.S. also-rans.

The men's lightweight coxless four was last in its final, 8.41 seconds back. The women's eight was 10.43 seconds behind and also last. The women's quadruple sculls was fifth, but by 10.68 seconds.

Another fifth came from the men's four on Saturday, when Americans won a silver in the women's pair and bronze in the men's pair. The other U.S. finalist, the women's double sculls, took fourth.

U.S. boats have not won a gold medal since the boycott-tainted 1984 games and not beaten a full field since the men's eight legacy ended in '64. Americans won three silvers and a bronze in Atlanta, two silvers and a bronze in both Barcelona and Seoul.

The United States' futility looks even worse compared to one woman: Elisabeta Lipa of Romania, who extended her own record for women's rowing medals by being part of the gold-medal eight.

It was Lipa's fourth gold since '84. She also has two silvers and a bronze. She was fifth in the double sculls Saturday. Romania won three golds over the two-day finals, the most of any country.

The saving grace for the United States on Sunday was the bronze won by Sarah Garner and Christine Collins, whose four world championships make her the most-decorated U.S. female rower.

But even that had a tinge of what might've been, as they led the first half of the race, only to drop to third following a surge by Germany and Romania. The Romanians caught the Germans at the end for the gold, while the Americans never responded.

Collins patted her partner's back after the finish, then shared hugs and handshakes with the competition on the medals stand. As the ceremony began, she smiled and waved to someone in the crowd, cocked her head left and shrugged, still smiling, as if to say, "Oh well."

"We pushed out in front and just tried to hold on," said Collins, of Worcester, Mass. "We just didn't have the same kick at the end as they did. We kind of knew through the week that it would be tough."

"We both feel we had a strong race," said Garner, a Wisconsin native living in Princeton, N.J.

Also Sunday, a Latvian rower who finished ninth in the men's single sculls was expelled from the Olympics for testing positive for steroids. Andris Reinholds was the fifth athlete kicked out since the Sydney Games began.


 


   
ESPN.com: Help | Advertiser Info | Contact Us | Tools | Site Map | Jobs at ESPN.com
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Ventures. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site.
 
 
Archery Rowing
Badminton Sailing
Canoe/Kayak Shooting
Cycling Synchronized Swimming
Diving
Equestrian Table Tennis
Fencing Tennis
Field Hockey Triathlon
Handball Water Polo
Judo/Taekwondo Weightlifting
Modern Pentathlon Wrestling