Electronic Telegraph Sunday 1 October 2000 Simon Hart THE BAHAMAS pulled off another giant-killing act to add to their world championship victory last year when they outpaced Marion Jones and her American colleagues to claim the gold in the women's 4x100m final. According to the American gameplan, the race was supposed to deliver the fourth of Jones's five gold medals but the double-sprint champion had too much to do in the final leg and could only manage a bronze to add to the one she won in the long jump the night before. The Bahamian quartet of Sevatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline Davis-Thompson and Debbie Ferguson set a season's best time of 41.95sec, while Jamaica's Merlene Ottey, who has still not ruled out another year of competition at the age of 40, bowed out of her sixth Olympics in style by anchoring her team-mates to the silver. "We are the world champions and now the Olympic champions," said Davis-Thompson, the only one of the Bahamas four not to reach the final of the 100 metres. "Everyone said it was a fluke when we won before, but we showed them again. We showed the United States and the whole world how powerful the Bahamas are. Everyone thought that USA was unbeatable with Marion in the team, but we showed them tonight. We've earned respect." The United States had better fortune in the men's sprint relay final, weakened by the absence of the British four after their disastrous disqualification in the heats. Though they failed to break the world record, the Americans were never in trouble as 100m champion Maurice Greene saw them home to a comfortable victory over second-placed Brazil and Cuba. Ethiopian Millon Wolde went head to head with Algerian Ali Saidi-Sief in thrilling final two laps of the 5,000m but proved too strong in the run-in to make it a night of double celebration following the earlier victory for his compatriot, Derartu Tulu, in the women's 10,000m. Yelena Yelesina, competing in her first Olympics, won Russia's first ever gold in the women's high jump, though it could also be their last for a long time. She lives in Melbourne and plans to jump for Australia in 2002. The women's javelin competition proved the virtue of perseverance. Norway's Trine Hattestad, competing in her fifth Olympics at the age of 34, won her first gold medal with an opening throw of 68.91m. "It's important to finally take it," said the former world champion. "You get a taste for the gold medal when you have tried for so long." Eamonn Condon WWW.RunnersGoal.com
