Column: Sights and sounds of the Olympic Trials

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Passing along some of the sights, and sounds, from the first three days of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials...

A sellout crowd of 23,211 filled Sacramento State University's Hornet Stadium from Friday through Sunday, and the general enthusiasm of the crowd has been inspiring. Then again, the fans have been given a show worth remembering, including meet records in the women's 10,000 meters and men's shot put.

Among the highlights ...

- Without question, two of the big stars of these games are Marion Jones and Maurice Greene. Jones received a standing ovation as she took her victory lap, stopping to wave to the crowd along the way, after winning the women's 100 meters in a time of 10.88 seconds on Saturday afternoon. More of the same awaited Greene after he charged from behind to win the men's 100 in the final 10 meters, clocking a 10.01 to edge Curtis Johnson and veteran Jon Drummond.

Watch for some real fireworks next Saturday and Sunday, when Michael Johnson and Greene work their way toward a highly anticipated showdown in the 200.

- The stadium came to life Saturday afternoon when the men's shot put finals began to heat up. The competition ended with a bang when, over a span of just minutes, Andy Bloom threw 70 foot, 10 inches, then Adam Nelson uncorked a Trials record throw of 72-7 (ninth best in world shot put history, and the best since 1996). Finally, then C.J. Hunter popped a 71-9, good for second place and a trip to Sydney along with his wife, Marion Jones. All three men achieved personal record marks in the competition.

"I got fired up and focused, feeding off the energy Andy had," Nelson said afterward. "It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Any time the crowd is behind you as an athlete, it makes you want to compete that much harder.

"I can't remember at any time where there's been this type of competition in one event in the U.S."

- Deena Drossin finished off Friday night's schedule by winning the women's 10,000 in a meet record 31:51.05. Drown put on a big move with four laps to go to win the race in impressive style.

- Less than an hour before, Me Keflezighi held off a late charge by Alan Culpepper to win the men's 10,000 by .03 in 28:03.32. Culpepper trailed by at least 50 meters with one kilometer to go, but gradually whittled away the gap and ran the final lap in 60 seconds to turn the race into a photo finish.

- The cowbell-clanging, drum-beating contingent of fans who were on hand to support Stanford's distance runners, including Gabe Jennings and Michael Stember (a product of nearby Jesuit High). The duo finished first and third, respectively, in the men's 1,500 final on Sunday. The fans were present throughout Stanford's march to the NCAA outdoor title and made themselves heard in Sacramento.

"I could hear the music and drums, just like anywhere we go, and that's a huge advantage," Jennings said after finishing 1-2 with Stember in the first 1,500 heat on Friday.

And, by the way, the bells and drums are a tribute to Jennings, who is a member of the Stanford band.

"Four years ago I was working in a running shoe store and thinking about where I would be four years from now," Jennings said. "Well, I'm in Sacto now and ready to go."

- Another of the inspiring events on Friday afternoon was the rhythmic clapping of fans for the men's disabled long jump, won by Marlon Shirley with an impressive leap of 21-feet, 0-3/4 inches.

Tahoe's own Mary Ebright took eighth in the women's disabled 100-meter dash, finishing in a time of 24.01.

(Dave Price is a sports writer for the Nevada Appeal.)