Thrill of Victory, Finally

By Helene Elliott

Aug. 7, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

HELSINKI, Finland — Three months ago, shotputter Adam Nelson was so desperate for money that he sold advertising space on his uniform on EBay. A silver medalist twice at the Olympics, twice at the world championships and once at the world indoor meet, Nelson had lost his sponsors and gained the label of perennial runner-up.

His image changed Saturday when he won the first U.S. medal at the world track and field championships with a season-best throw of 71 feet 3 1/2 inches). His first effort, unleashed before a cold mist thickened into a steady shower at Olympic Stadium, turned the evening into an occasion he’ll always remember.

“I didn’t notice the rain,” Nelson said. “I thought it was sunny all day long.”

Nelson credited the winning $12,000 EBay bid from MedivoxRX, which markets a talking prescription bottle, for allowing him to continue training and take that step to the top of the medal podium. “I hope they got their money’s worth,” said Nelson, who wore the company’s logo at four meets in June.

“This is really an overwhelming feeling right now.”

Nelson said he was nervous until Rutger Smith of the Netherlands took a final throw and didn’t improve his earlier mark of 69-10 1/4 . Ralf Bartels of Germany was third at 68-10 1/2 and U.S. outdoor champion Christian Cantwell fifth at 68-5 3/4 . Three-time world champion John Godina of the U.S., hampered by hand and elbow injuries, was eliminated in the qualifying round.

“After Rutger Smith threw his last throw, emotions got the better of me,” said Nelson, who fouled on his last attempt. “I’ve worked really hard for this moment.”

The inaugural day of competition was full of drama. In the women’s 10,000, Tirunesh Dibaba outsprinted two Ethiopian teammates -- including her older sister Ejegayehu, the Athens silver medalist -- to win in 30 minutes 24.02 seconds. Tirunesh Dibaba plans to double in the 5,000, in which she won a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics, and she got off to a better start than Paula Radcliffe did in trying to double in the 10,000 and the marathon.

Radcliffe led the 10,000 in the early going, fell behind and surged ahead at about 7,700 meters before fading to ninth, in 30:42.75. At least she finished, which she couldn’t do at Athens in the 10,000 or marathon.

“I got a hard run, and that’s what I wanted,” said Radcliffe, the marathon world-record holder. “I just didn’t have the pace to stay with them.”

Olympic 100-meter gold medalist Justin Gatlin set a slow pace in the quarterfinals. “Rain, sleet, snow, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to go out and try to win the gold medal,” said Gatlin, who ran a 10.16 in the qualifying round and a 10.27 into a wind of 2.0 meters per second.

Shawn Crawford (10.23 in qualifying, 10.25 in the quarterfinals) and Leonard Scott (10.12 and 10.19) also advanced.

Alan Webb feared he might not have advanced out of his 1,500-meter heat after he went out fast, got boxed in, and finished sixth in 3:36.84. However, he qualified based on his time; Rob Myers (3:40.16) and Christopher Lukezic (3:41.80) also moved on. “I wanted to make it an honest race,” Webb said. Said Lukezic: “He’s a great competitor, but he’s got to learn how to race.”

USC alum Felix Sanchez, the Athens 400-meter hurdles gold medalist and two-time world champion for the Dominican Republic, overcame the pain of a calcium deposit on his right foot and advanced to today’s semifinal. Sanchez, who had raced only twice this year, was passed by Bershawn Jackson of the U.S. in the final 20 meters of their qualifying heat. Jackson won in 49.34, with Sanchez at 49.47.

Although he limped afterward, Sanchez said he never considered withdrawing.

“I just wanted a chance to defend my title,” he said. “If they’re going to take my championships, they’re going to do it with me here, not with me sitting in front of my TV back home.... Considering that this race was technically horrible from start to finish, I’m very pleased.”

Kerron Clement of the U.S., the 400-meter indoor world-record holder, led all qualifiers at 48.98 despite his choppy rhythm. James Carter won his heat in 49.05 and said a U.S. sweep in the final “is definitely possible.”

In a mild surprise, all three U.S. women advanced to the semifinals of the 800. Hazel Clark won her heat in 2:01.91, Kameisha Bennett was third in her heat in 2:01.78, and Alice Schmidt was second in the slowest heat, in 2:07.10. Svetlana Cherkasova of Russia had the top qualifying time, 2:00.62. Also advancing was Maria Mutola of Mozambique, a three-time 800-meter world champion and the Sydney gold medalist.

Eunice Barber of France built a two-point lead over world and Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden after four events and credited her effort to having trained with Bob Kersee at UCLA for four months this year. “We took time to work on my health and my technique, and that helped me,” she said.

Kluft downplayed the twisted left ankle she suffered in practice on Friday. “I’m not disappointed,” she said of her position before today’s final three events. “I’m just trying to do my best.”

Athens high jump gold medalist Yelena Slesarenko of Russia withdrew because of an injured left ankle. Chaunte Howard, a 2002 graduate of Riverside North High who’s competing at her first world championships, and UCLA alumna Amy Acuff advanced to the final. “I was shaking. I think it was the cold,” Howard said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)Medal winners

Saturday’s finals at the world track and field championships in Helsinki, Finland:

MEN’S 100-METER WHEELCHAIR

1. David Weir, Britain 14.15

2. Kenny van Weehgel, Netherlands 14.19

3. Leo-Pekka Tahti, Finland 14.22

MEN’S 20-KILOMETER RACE WALK

1. Jefferson Perez, Ecuador 1:18:35

2. Francisco Javier Fernandez, Spain 1:19:36

3. Juan Manuel Molina, Spain 1:19:44

MEN’S SHOTPUT

1. Adam Nelson, United States 71-3 1/2