Wariner Leads U.S. Sweep of 400-meter Medals

ATHENS, Greece – After his stunning victory in the Olympic 400 meters, Jeremy Wariner seemed as cool as he did cruising down the stretch in sunglasses, two earrings and a jingling necklace.Picking up where Michael Johnson left off, Wariner became the sixth straight American to win the Olympic 400 title, leading a U.S. sweep of the medals yesterday.Wariner finished in 44.00 seconds – a personal best and the fastest time in the world this year. He was followed by silver medalist Otis Harris (44.16) and bronze medalist Derrick Brew (44.42).Also yesterday, the American decathlon world champion Tom Pappas, expected to be a star of these Olympics in his ancestral Greek homeland, slipped almost out of medal contention. In the 800, Britain’s Kelly Holmes held off three competitors, including defending champion Maria Mutola, to win the closest Olympic finish in history.Wariner has been tabbed the successor to Johnson, who ruled the 400 for more than a decade, still holds the world record of 43.18, and won gold in 1996 and 2000. After the race, Johnson came down from the stands, where he was doing commentary for the BBC, to congratulate the man who took his title – and his coach, Baylor University’s Clyde Hart.Johnson said Wariner shares his ability to focus, but rejected other comparisons.“I see a great athlete who at 20 years old has come out here and won. I didn’t do that at 20 years old, I didn’t make an Olympic team,” Johnson said. “He’s got bigger earrings than I had, he’s his own guy.”The United States has dominated the event since 1984, winning 13 of the 18 medals in the last six Olympics. Americans also have four medal sweeps – 1904, 1968, 1988 and this summer.The three Americans hugged in the finish area, then began a slow victory lap with three American flags.“It means a lot. We all thought we could go out there and go 1-2-3. We did our best, we fought hard, and we all came out on top,” Wariner said, showing no sign of emotion. “It hasn’t sunk in yet.”Wariner is the first white American man to win a sprint medal since Mike Larabee’s 400 gold in 1964.“I’ve never seen a white man run that fast,” said Grenada’s Alleyne Francique, who finished fourth. “It was a blazing race, man. The kid is good.”In the 800, Holmes, a bronze medalist at the 2000 Sydney Games, finished in 1 minute, 56.38 seconds – her eyes wide, mouth open and arms spread like wings as she crossed the line just ahead of Morocco’s Hasna Benhassi and Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak. Both were timed in 1:56.43, and it took a photo to determine Benhassi had captured the silver medal.Mutola faded in her very last strides to finish fourth in 1:56.51. Jearl Miles Clark of the United States led for most of the race, but ran out of energy on the final stretch and finished sixth.Also yesterday, Francoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon won the triple jump, followed by Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece and Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia.Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar pulled away from Kenya’s Isabella Ochichi in the final half-lap to win the 5,000. Greece’s Athanasia Tsoumeleka got the crowd going early yesterday, winning the 20-kilometer walk in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 12 seconds.Hungary’s Robert Fazekas won the discus with an Olympic-record toss of (70.93 meters). Lithuania’s Virgilijus Alekna, the defending champion, got the silver, and Hungary’s Zoltan Kovago got bronze.Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Karpov led halfway through the two-day decathlon with 4,689 points, followed by Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic with 4,594 and American champion Bryan Clay with 4,554. Pappas was fifth with 4,415.

Wariner Leads U.S. Sweep of 400-meter Medals

More from the New York Sun

Let Some Oil Tankers Sail Through the Strait of Hormuz — World Oil Prices Will Retreat Big Time

‘What Is Chabad Exactly?’

On Taxes in New York, It’s Mamdani v. Hochul

More from the New York Sun

Let Some Oil Tankers Sail Through the Strait of Hormuz — World Oil Prices Will Retreat Big Time

‘What Is Chabad Exactly?’

On Taxes in New York, It’s Mamdani v. Hochul

‘Hoppers’ is the Best Pixar Film of the Decade

Florida Senate Advances Bill To Let State Leaders Designate Groups as Terrorists After Federal Judge Blocks Effort by DeSantis

One Week In, Will Trump and Netanyahu Have Time To Finish Reshaping the Mideast and the World?

State Department Says Charter Flights Are Evacuating Hundreds of Americans Stranded in Middle East

Mayor Mamdani’s Wife Liked Posts Cheering on Hamas’s October 7 Massacre: Report