Miles-Clark outkicked in run for gold

By Elliott Denman

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - In the fifth and almost certainly final Olympic appearance of her storied track and field career, Jearl Miles-Clark was determined to go out on top.

And the 37-year-old Knoxville, Tenn., resident came within one desperate homestretch sprint of doing just that Monday night at Olympic Stadium.

``I went out, I ran hard, I tried to grab the gold medal, I just fell 100 meters short,'' she said.

Digging into the deepest reserves of her talent and experience, Team USA's eldest women's runner took out the pace from the opening gun of the 800-meter final and stayed in front until the eight-runner field came off the final turn and headed for home.

With the crowd roaring, Clark - who won two gold medals and one silver medal in her previous Olympic appearances - had her first individual medal in sight as the final sprint to the line began.

But it wasn't to happen.

Great Britain's Kelly Holmes had the biggest kick and took gold in 1:56.38. Morocco's Hasna Benhassi claimed silver in 1:56.43, and Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak sprinted furiously from far back to claim the bronze in an identical 1:56.43.

Two more runners nosed out the tiring Miles-Clark, who ended up sixth in 1:57.27.

This was the closest Olympic final ever - six runners within .89 seconds - and Miles-Clark's time was just .87 short of her American record set in 1999.

``I got bumped about 80 meters, 70 meters out,'' she said. ``Then my legs went dead. But I'm happy, this may have been my last one, and I wanted to go out with a bang.

``I didn't get the medal, but I'm not going to cry about it. I didn't hold back, I left everything on the track.

``I didn't want this to be a slow race, and it wasn't.''

A 2004 Olympic medal, though, might still be a possibility. The 4x400 relay is yet to be run and the U.S. is a leading gold-medal candidate. Miles-Clark could be nominated for the American lineup.