SPORTSLINE (08/02/98)

SPORTSLINE

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj

ATHLETICS

This year, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) initiated a seven-meet contest called the Golden League. A total of $1 million will be shared by any athletes who win their events in each of the seven meets.

The chances of anyone performing such a feat sound improbable, and Sergey Bubka, a man who has guaranteed himself a place in the pantheon of athletics by tackling the seemingly impossible, has already been knocked out of the running.

Prior to the first meet in the series, the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, on July 9, the six-time world pole vault champion had this to say:

"I have made the Golden League the focus of my season. I will definitely not compete in the European Championships in Budapest. Of course, it will be really difficult to win all seven events (including the final), especially in the pole vault, but this gives me a strong motivation.

"I've been in the sport 24 years and I need new things to excite me. I like this new Golden League. It is fantastic the way the sport has changed in the last 10 years - there are many more opportunities for athletes now, and this is the latest one. Personally, I am also glad that I have strong rivals. Already we have many people around 6 meters this year, and it is a challenge for me to see if I can beat them. I won't even think about retiring until after the year 2000. The fact that I have won only one Olympic gold in my career bothers me, and I have to do something about it in Sydney!"

Unfortunately, Mr. Bubka managed to clear only his opening height of 5.60 meters, then knocked down the bar once and was slapped with two time penalties. According to a recent rule change, each competitor has one minute and 30 seconds to complete each vault.

Mr. Bubka was one of two superstars who had done much to promote the series, and then go on to defeat. In the men's 400-meters Michael Johnson of the U.S. finished third despite a lane advantage.

In the women's 100-meter sprint, Ukraine's Zhanna Pintusevych again faced her nemesis, Marion Jones of the U.S. Ms. Jones finished just under a quarter of a second ahead, a large margin for that distance, with a time of 10.82 seconds. Ms. Pintusevych clocked in at 11.06 seconds, shading Chrystie Gaines of the U.S. by two hundredths of a second.

Oleksander Bohach returned to the hunt for shot put glory, after his ignominious exit from the World Championships last year. At the Gugl GP in Linz Austria on July 5, he finished second behind U.S. putter John Godina. The Ukrainian's distance was 20.34 meters, the American's, 21.55.

At the Golden Gala meet in Rome, on July 14 Mr. Bohach again finished second, this time behind Kevin Toth of the U.S., with a toss of 20.38 meters, 25 centimeters short of the leader's distance.

At the same competition, Yuriy Bilonoh finished fifth with a distance of 19.69 meters while Roman Virastiuk took eighth with a throw of 19.44 meters.

Angela Balakhonova made it to the final of the high jump, but failed to clear a height at that stage.

Tetiana Tereschuk scored Ukraine's first victory of the season by besting the field in the 400-meter hurdles, with a time of 53.67 seconds, edging out Kim Batten of the U.S. at the tape by .03 second. Also on the women's side of things, Olena Buzhenko came sixth in the 800 meters, with a time of 2:03.82.

The Pintusevych/Jones battle had actually begun in Linz with the U.S. sprinter coming out on top, but by a slightly narrower margin - 10.84 to 11.02.

Earlier in the IAAF's Grand Prix season, at the Japan Grand Prix in Osaka on May 9, Oleksii Krykun somehow made the finals in the hammer throw, but could not manage higher than sixth with a distance of 59.62 meters, well short of the podium and more than 20 meters (over 60 feet) short of the top mark set by Balasz Kiss of Hungary.

Two days later, at the most recent meet, the Nikaia GP in Nice, France, Olena Hovorova took home some more hardware for Ukraine by taking third place in the triple jump, with a distance of 14.51 - 19 centimeters short of the silver effort posted by Romanian Rodica Mateescu, herself pipped by Czech Sarka Kasparkova by two centimeters.

At the same competition, Ms. Tereschuk finished fourth in the women's 400-meter hurdles, her time dropping to 55.13 seconds, about half a second off the podium pace. Andrii Skvaruk finished sixth in the hammer throw, just as Mr. Krykun had earlier, but he put Ukraine's numbers closer to the competition by hurling his apparatus 78.29 meters - at least within shouting distance of Mr. Kiss' astounding 82.13 meter effort. In the men's 3,000-meter run Sergei Lebed did well to finish within 10 seconds of the Moroccan winner's pace, placing 10 with a time of 7:48.41 seconds.

GOLF

Our readers have prompted us to end our ostensible golf boycott. It's hard to argue with success, but even harder to argue with the grandparents of a successful grandchild. As Maurice and Jay Kuchar wrote, "We think many Ukrainians would like to know we excel at sports other than hockey."

Matthew Gregory Kuchar, 20, a native of Winter Park, Fla., is enjoying a storybook year after winning the 1997 U.S. Amateur Championships and three collegiate titles, including this year's Puerto Rico Golf Classic.

The 6-foot-4-inch 195-pounder is a sophomore at Georgia Tech majoring in management. He took up golf when he was 12. In April, he was invited to play at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

As reported on the CNN/Sports Illustrated website, "The Kid with the Killer Smile" almost stole the spotlight from another young golfer he was partnering with - defending Masters champion Tiger Woods. He called Mr. Kuchar's play "awesome" as the Ukrainian American battled howling winds to hold a share of the lead after 14 holes.

Caddied by his father, Peter, an insurance specialist, Mr. Kuchar led Mr. Woods by one stroke at that point, finishing the round with a 72. Mr. Woods shot 71.

In the end, he shot an even-par 288, placing 21st over all. This earned him the Masters' silver trophy as the "low amateur" and a return trip to next year's competition - the first amateur to "play his way back" to the Masters since Sam Randolph did it in 1985.

As his grandparents put it, "he captured the hearts of many Americans on nationwide TV with his cheery demeanor and never-ending smile." Mr. Kuchar told CNN, "I may be smiling a little bit out of embarrassment. I can't believe this many people are watching me play golf."

In June at the U.S. Open in San Francisco, Mr. Kuchar was even more successful, finishing 14th over all, and his post-Masters resolve to stay an amateur was beginning to crumble. Pressed by an AP reporter, he finally offered a "maybe" to a suggestion that he turn pro after this year's U.S. Amateur championships at Oak Hill, in Rochester, N.Y.

July has been a tougher month, as first at Loch Lomond World Invitational in Scotland, and then the Royal Birkdale Club, at the British Open, Mr. Kuchar missed the cut.

As he prepares for a defense of his U.S. Amateur title, which will begin in August, he faces more pressure than ever from sponsors and even senior players who have told him he is ready to turn pro.

"Right now I am dead in the middle," the phenom told Reuters. "There are so many positives about going back to school and so many positives about turning pro, so I don't know what's going to happen. They're saying millions, I don't really know what a million is going to do for me."