IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Today's highlights include finals in the women's long jump, men's 1,500m, men's pole vault, men's 3,000m and steeplechase. Also, NBC will break away from the track long enough to air the men's basketball semifinals.
NEWS & NOTES
Gymnast Andreea Raducan won't get her gold medal back. Arbitrators upheld the International Olympic Committee's decision to disqualify the all-around champion for taking cold medicine that contained the banned stimulant pseudoephedrine. The presence of the drug constitutes an offense "irrespective of whether or not the competitor intended to ingest the prohibited substance," the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled yesterday. "I'm very disappointed by the result," Raducan said at a news conference. "But in my heart, I am convinced that I have done nothing wrong."
Stumbling over her words and staring into space, French track star Marie-Jose Perec said fear drove her from Sydney and ended her dream of winning a third Olympic gold medal. In an interview on France-2 television, Perec said she regretted her decision to flee Australia but said it was not worth competing in the conditions she endured. "In this case, I had no choice but to leave. When I took my things and left, I was in a state of stress," she said.
NBC's rating jumped from the 12th to the 13th night of the Olympics as track and field action returned after a day off. Wednesday night's taped telecast, which also included cycling, diving and wrestling, drew a 13.9 rating and 24 share when measured from 7:30 p.m. to midnight.
The previous night's 12.4 rating was the worst for Summer Games competition in at least 16 years.
Upset over news reports that focus on her father's temper, teen-age tennis star Jelena Dokic has vowed never to play for Australia again. The Daily Telegraph said that Dokic was angry over an article in the Australian Tennis magazine that suggested her father, Damir Dokic, needed psychological help to control his volatile temper.
THE FINISH LINE
The "Dazzling Gazelle" of Sri Lanka, Susanthika Jayasinghe, ran to a third-place finish in the women's 200 meters, thrilling her country with its first Olympic medal in 52 years. Her 22.28-second effort, the fastest in her life, was just behind the 22.27 clocked by silver medalist Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas. Marion Jones of the United States won in 21.84.
Work stopped in Sri Lanka offices as television broadcast the race. Firecrackers exploded in the streets when Jayasinghe collected the bronze. Within minutes, President Chandrika Kumaratunga appeared on state-run television.
"We are all proud of you," Kumaratunga said. "As a woman, I'm doubly proud of your victory." The daughter of a laborer, Jayasinghe practiced running barefoot among rubber trees.
