SEOUL, SEPT. 28 (WEDNESDAY) -- The U.S. men's basketball team's gold medal march came to a shocking
end with an 82-76 loss to the Soviet Union and Carl Lewis' drive toward
a repeat of his quadruple gold medal performance in 1984 ended the same
way in the 200 meters Wednesday.
The last time the United States and Soviet Union met in Olympic
basketball was 1972 and the Soviets won, 51-50, to hand the American men
their only defeat in 86 Olympic contests.
Wednesday, there was no resetting of the clock twice in the final
three seconds, as happened 16 years ago. The Soviets won this semifinal
game straight up, 82-76, led by Rimas Kurtinaitais' 28 points and seven
rebounds and Arvidas Sabonis' 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The U.S.S.R. will face either Australia or Yugoslavia in the
gold-medal game Friday.
"I'm very disappointed and the kids are disappointed, but there will
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be life afterwards," said U.S. Coach John Thompson.
Shortly afterward, U.S. teammate Joe DeLoach caught Lewis in the
stretch to win the 200. Lewis took the silver to go with the gold he
already won in the long jump and the 100-meter victory that was awarded
to him after Canadian Ben Johnson was stripped of the gold after a
positive drug test.
Those two events highlighted a day in which light heavyweight boxer
Andrew Maynard of Cheverly, Md., assured himself of at least a bronze
medal with a victory over a Hungarian and the United States swept the
medals in the men's 400 meters. Steve Lewis, 19, won the gold in that
race, relegating world record holder Butch Reynolds to silver; Danny
Everett took third.
Steve Lewis' time was 43.87 seconds.
The Olympics were still reeling from the news about Johnson, who
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returned home to Canada. But Johnson's departure did not end the drug
news here as Dr. Han Moon, doping control chief of the Games, said
another Olympic athlete had tested positive for stanozolol, the same
steroid found in Johnson's urine. He said the athlete could not be named
until a second analysis of the urine sample could be conducted.
Johnson was the seventh athlete and third gold medalist from these
Olympics to test positive for a banned substance.
Although he headed for home without commenting, he told the Boston
Globe on the trans-Pacific flight, "I don't care. It's not the only
thing in life to win a gold medal."
Johnson's manager had claimed the positive drug test was the result
of sabotage or something the athlete drank after the race. However,
Olympic officials said Johnson's drug test disproved that theory and a
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Canadian sporting official told the Ottawa Citizen, "You can't get that
result from using steroids one day."
As the decathlon competition began, Jurgen Hingsen of West Germany,
the 1984 silver medalist, was disqualified from the first event, the 100
meters, after three false starts. Hingsen admitted two false starts but
said of the third, "I never moved . . . It should never have happened to
an athlete of my status."
Daley Thompson of Britain, going for an unprecedented third gold in
the event, led after the 100 meters, but fell into second place behind
France's Christian Plaziat after a weak long jump.
With five days remaining in the Games, the Soviet Union led the medal
standings with 81 total, 35 gold. East Germany was next with 72 total
and 29 gold, followed by the United States with 54 and 18.
Away from the competition, South Korean police recommended that a
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U.S. swimmer and his friend should be prosecuted for allegedly stealing
an $800 plaster lion mask from a Seoul hotel.
A police spokesman said an investigation has concluded that Troy
Dalbey of San Jose, a member of a gold-medal-winning relay team, and his
friend Ernest Glenn, who is not an official member of the Olympic
delegation, should face prosecution. A second member of the U.S.
swimming team, Doug Gjertsen, should not be prosecuted, police
concluded.
The recommendation is not binding on the Seoul city prosecutors.
Sources said they do not believe that South Korean authorities will
attempt to jail Dalbey or detain him beyond the end of the Olympics.
Another U.S. athlete was detained Wednesday, as runner Johnny Gray
was questioned by police after he became involved in an argument with a
taxi driver and reportedly kicked the vehicle. Gray, who raced in the
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800 meters, was released in the custody of U.S. Embassy officials.
Ron Rowan, an attorney for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said Gray and
three companions complained the cab was driving dangerously and almost
hit them. Gray was acting in self-defense, Rowan said.
U.S. athletes were faring better at the playing venues. U.S. yachters
won five medals, including a gold. In the first Olympic yachting class
for women only, Allison Jolly and Lynne Jewell sailed to gold for the
United States, even though they had to fix a faulty jib midway through
the race in the women's 470 class.
Americans also won silvers in the Star and Soling events plus bronzes
in sailboard and men's 470.
In soccer, the Soviet Union gained the gold medal game with an
overtime victory over Italy. Brazil needed a penalty shootout to get
past West Germany in the other semifinal.
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Zina Garrison beat U.S. teammate Pam Shriver to reach the tennis
semifinals, where she will play top-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany.
In the ring, the United States increased its boxers in the semifinals
to six as Maynard beat Lajos Eros of Hungary, bantamweight Kennedy
McKinney decisioned Stephen Mwema of Kenya, welterweight Kenneth Gould
got past Joni Nyman of Finland and heavyweight Ray Mercer stopped
Italian Luigi Gaudiano in the first round.
In preliminary track competition, women's 100 meters champion
Florence Griffith Joyner began chasing a gold in the 200 meters with two
easy heat victories. In the second, she set an Olympic record with a
21.76 clocking.
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