European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 22 b the stars and stripes saturday August 10, 1991 finally strikes Gold by Steve Wilstein Havana apr an american runner inspired by Che Guevana captured a Gold As . And cuban athletes sewing up for a Long delayed clash in the olympics Savoured triumphs against each other in the pan american games. A Ana Quirt cubans Queen of track and country woman Liliana Allen ran to their second golds while americans beleaguered track and Field team finally celebrated with 1-2 finishes in the menus 800 and Hammer throw and a Gold in the pole vault. Americans Ocky Clark and Terril Davis grabbed the Gold and Silver in the 800, and Jim Driscoll and Jud pan America games Logan did the same in the Hammer throw. Pat Manson won the pole vault at 18 feet 1-2 Inch. Clark who won in 1 46.91, said he got pumped up by a quote from cuban revolutionary Martyr Cne Guevara about a the willpower of champions that he read in an american newspaper a few Days ago. �?o1 could feel wed been taking a beating a said Clark 29, of Sanford Fla. A people say we did no to bring All our Best but we brought some of Sheldon Blockburger showed some of that willpower in the decathlon As he roared Back from far behind to take the Bronze. Blockburger had led the decathlon after seven events but fell Back when he could t Cope with the crosswinds and failed to Clear the bar in the pole vault. Refusing to quit he finished second in the javelin and third in the grueling 1,500 at the end to win a medal. Pedro Ferreira of Brazil won the decathlon and cubans Eugenio Balanque took the Silver. Another brazilian Robson a Silva crashed the cuban us. Party by adding a Gold in the 200 to the one he won in the 100. For the cuban fans though the Star of the Day was Quirt. A i was very sure i was going to win a Quirt said in winning the 800 by nearly 10 meters and breaking her own pan am games record with a time of 1 58.72. Americans Alisa Hill and Celeste Halliday won the Silver and Bronze. Quirt a a second Gold a she won the 400 on monday a had the fans dancing As she circled the track with the cuban Flag during her Victory Lap. Allen got the fans going a Little earlier As she added the 200 Gold to the 100 shed already won. Cuban and . Athletes have faced each other in International meets but not in the olympics since 1976. Cuba has said it will have a team at the Barcelona games next year. The countries Are vying for dominance of these games. They also met each other thursday night in wrestling and women a basketball. Halfway through thursdays events the United slates had pulled ahead of Cuba in total medals but still trailed in golds. 7 the fantastic . Women a softball team racked up another no hitter in a 6-0 Victory Over Venezuela this James Driscoll reacts to his Hammer throw thursday. One with a twist a a perfect game in Relief by Lisa Fernandez after she came in for Michelle Granger who threw nine straight balls before leaving with a Blister. The . Women have allowed Only three singles to 126 batters while striking out 80, in six games. The . Gold Medai deficit was not Likely to get any better through boxing. In the first Usa Cuba matchup cuban Rogelio Marcelo knocked out Bradley Martinez at 2 16 of the first round of their 106-Pound class. Martinez was knocked Down with a left hand and sat on the Canvas As the referee ended the fight. A i just walked into the punch a Martinez said. A the hits pretty hard and 1 just got caught with a Good the other . Fighter in action Michael Demoss also found himself in a Battle but escaped with a narrow decision Over Horacio Riviera of Mexico to give the . Team three wins in four fights. The . Women a basketball team cruised past Cuba 91-71, but the game Between them that counts is two Days away. Katrina Mcclain had 23 Points and 12 rebounds to Lead the United states 3-1which will meet Cuba 2-2 again on saturday in the semifinal. Brazil 4-0which snapped the . Women a 42-game International winning Streak last sunday meets Canada 1-3 in the other semifinal the Gold medal game will be played sunday. A the Way we played was the Way i hoped we would play a said . Coach Vivian Stringer. A we were fired up and Well work to be fired up again on the . And cuban baseball teams Haven to played each other yet but the americans almost got a Shock from the wingless Netherlands Antilles. ,. Chris Roberts two run Homer in the Bottom of the ninth averted an upset with a 5-4 Victory that gave the . Team a 4-0 record in the round Robin stage of Competition. A loss for the americans would have endangered their Chance to be among the four teams that qualify for pan am medal play. And coach Ron polkas team must reach medal play to qualify for next years olympics. One Victory in the final four round Robin games will be enough to ensure that the americans qualify Polk predicted. Quot a a i think that would get the Monkey a the Little Monkey off everybody a Back Quot he said. A a that Sall everybody talks about is getting in the top , canadians in Brawl Havana up a so much for Good Fellowship the pan american games turned Bellicose thursday when the Canadian and mexican baseball teams fought a bloody Bat swinging Brawl that left the mexican manager with stitches in his head and an assistant Canadian coach in the Hospital with an angina attack. In the mayhem at Frank do Beche stadium the Canadian coach accused the mexicans of assaulting his players with a bats fists and one Canadian was said to have had his buttocks smacked with a Bat. The mexicans charged the canadians with striking their manager with a catchers mask. Eyewitnesses said spectators began moving toward the Field but police prevented them from climbing the barriers. The game was halted in the sixth inning when the Umpire said it was not Safe to continue. Mexico led 7-5 and was declared the Winner a decision that brought an official protest from the Canadian delegation. The incident a rare in latin american baseball especially at an event like the pan american games a came on the sixth Day of Competition. The unsanctioned fighting thursday was triggered in the Bottom of the fifth inning when Canadian Catcher Alex Andreopoulos Slid hard into second base attempting to break up a double play. Andreopoulos drafted by the san Diego padres in june and the mexican shortstop exchanged words. Aba will restore . Olympic supremacy re 1iv1 it Tampi . A. By Jim of Connell a basketball writer Havana you be seen the cartoon a million times. One animated character closing what seemed an insurmountable distance to a few precious Steps Only to have the Chasee Speed away and restore the margin to a frustrating level. Well its happening in the world of Ballet bail and the players involved Are far from celluloid figures. They Are International players who have been chasing their Brethren from the United states. Now that they Are close enough to have snared a Gold medal or two the United states will be pulling away. The method of acceleration was the inclusion of players from the National basketball association on the . Roster for the 1992 olympics. And it wont be just any Aba players it will be the Best of the Best. A i done to think it will Hurt the International game but the tournaments from now on will be played for second place on Down and in that sense teams Are probably not really looking Forward to them a puerto rican National coach Raymond Dalmau said while scouting at the pan american games. The consensus throughout the International basketball Community is that the Competition at Barcelona next summer will Start with the . Flag already raised on the highest pole. As with soccer s greatest players Only first names Are needed a magic Michael Isiah Charles. Quot a i done to know what team the . Will bring there a brazilian Forward Marcel Sousa said. A if you bring the real stuff it will be very very difficult. But it will be an Honor to play against them. A i already played against Michael Jordan but it was when he was in College. It will be a pleasure and Honor again. It always is to guard somebody who can smash thais what seems so frustrating to those involved. It took about 20 years for the International Community s Best to reach the level of the . Collegiate Allstar teams which always participated in the olympics world championships and pan am games. Now that the United states has become mortal in that context it seems american domination will again become the Norm. A a in a not upset about it a Dalmau said a i just think the . Is tired of losing. They Haven to won an International tournament in five years and they see that every other country uses professional players because they use their Best players a lot of whom play professional basketball. The . Feels they have the right to use their better players who Are the pros. They probably feel at this time that the rest of the world has gotten a lot better and they re not on the same level As they used to the last . Gold medal in a major International Competition was at the 1986 world championships. Since then there was the 1987 pan am finals upset at the hands of Sousa and teammate Oscar Schmidt the Bronze medal in Seoul after a semifinal loss to the soviet Union a Silver at the Goodwill games and a Bronze at the world championships both coming after losses to Yugoslavia. Any medal but Gold Wasny to Good enough for the Media and fans in the United states. With the addition of the Aba players for the olympics no ground rules have been set by Usa basketball beyond that Competition a it would seem dreams come True like the one Sousa lived out in Indianapolis wont be repeated. I think about that game always. Just like you would if you won the pulitzer prize Sousa said a you think about it the rest of your life. A but we Are Happy about the Aba players it s a new Challenge to see How the Best basketball can be played. We know the Aba is the Best but we try to catch up and we will always have that right. It does no to matter How Long it Sousa who played professionally in Europe for 12 years and now plays in his native country said he watches Aba games via satellite and can to help being boastful when he sees those players he and his teammates beat in 1987. A when i see Rex Chapman on to i say i smashed him a Sousa said with his infectious laugh. A people Tell me i done to play defense but he did no to score off me in the second half and you can look that up 111 always have that. Nobody can Ever take that away from me. Perhaps next year that happen but right now i beat Jeffrey Granger is a native of Newark n.j., playing on the Uruguay National team. The graduate of East Texas state said he a been trying to Tell his fellow l slj0nas South America what it will be like now that the Aba has gotten involved in International basketball. Nobody said nothing All those years when everyone else was using their professional players so Why the . Have a Chance to show their Best a he said a i try to explain to these Guys in South America that Well always have the Superior Talent because we re born to play the game. In be tried to Tell these Guys a you ainu to seen nothing a
