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NATHAN ON TRACK: COMPLETES DAY ONE IN NINTH PLACE
September 23, 2000
(INDIANAPOLIS)-- DeDee Nathan (Bloomington, Ind.) completed day one
of the heptathlon competition in Sydney, Australia. With a total of
3679
points Nathan remains the top American athlete in the competition at
9th
place. Nathan is 224 points behind overall leader Natalya Sazanovich
of
Belarus. Nathan entered the heptathlon as the American Olympic Trials
champion and with the 13th best individual heptathlon performance in
2000.
Saturday's heptathlon competition also saw 1996 Olympic Champion of
Syria, Ghada Shouaa, fail to finish the 100m hurdles. Fellow American
teammate, Kelly Blair-LaBounty, withdrew from competition before the
opening event, returning home due to an aggrevating spinal disc injury.
"After a tough first event score DeDee has responded very well to the
challenges of her event", said Invaders Head Coach Chris Buhler. He
added, "What is most important is her continued focus on the remaining
events and the strength that she draws from the fact that she is in a
great position just 224 points off the lead".
"DeDee has potentially her best event (long jump) to start the second
day and that result should set the tone for her finish. Add a season
best in the javelin and we could be looking at a dramatic finish in the
final event (800)", said Invaders Director Greg Harger.
Nathan's Day One Summary:
#1 100 METER HURDLES
Nathan finishes the 100m hurdles in a time of 13.74 (1015 points)
giving her an initial start in this multi-event competition of 16th.
#2 HIGH JUMP
Nathan bests her Olympic Trials mark of 1.76m with a 1.78m height
(953 points). Nathan's clearance of 1.78m moves her into an overall
11th place standing.
#3 SHOT PUT
Nathan's 6th place toss of 14.22m adds another 809 points to her total.
#4 200 METERS
In the final event of the day Nathan gains another 902 points with a
run
of 24.84 in her heat of the 200m.
The Top 10 (33 athletes started the competition) standings to start Day
2 of the Heptathlon:
Pos. Athlete Country Points
1 Natalya Sazanovich BLR 3903
2 Natalya Roshchupkina RUS 3872
3 Denise Lewis GBR 3852
4 Urszula Wlodarczyk POL 3805
5 Yelena Prokhorova RUS 3771
6 Sabine Braun GER 3770
7 Eunice Barber FRA 3707
8 Karin Specht-Ertl GER 3697
9 Le Shundra "DeDee" Nathan USA 3679
10 Tiia Hautala FIN 3621
Nathan's Olympic showdown takes place in front of an overall Olympic
television audience of 3.7 billion.
Television coverage of the Heptathlon will resume at 7 PM this Sunday
at
7 PM on NBC (Time EST and subject to change). Sunday's competition will
start with the long jump followed by the javelin throw and ending with
the 800m.
Olympic Results available at http://www.olympics.com.
For additional Invaders information, please contact Greg Harger.
-II-
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