Butch Reynolds, the world record-holder and 1988 Olympic silver medalist in the 400 meters, lost his long, tenacious battle to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials Friday night.
After a Cincinnati court judge ruled against him, Reynolds could have run only through a last-minute ruling by the Supreme Court. But a Reynolds lawyer said he wouldn't take his case that far.Meanwhile, Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell began heading toward their showdown in the 100-meter dash with routine performances.
Earlier Friday, Reynolds, armed with a copy of a preliminary injunction from a federal court judge in Columbus, Ohio, clearing him to compete in the trials, and flanked by a criminal sheriff's deputy from the Louisiana police department, vowed to run Saturday.
But about three hours later, Reynolds' optimism was quashed by judge Eugene Siler of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
Reynolds had been suspended for two years by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the world governing body of track and field, after allegedly testing positive for drugs at a meet in August 1990. Since then, he has maintained his innocence.
Officials of The Athletics Congress, seeking to prevent Reynolds from competing and "contaminating" the other 31 entrants in the 400 field, including his younger brother, Jeff, appealed to the Cincinnati court after the Columbus court's ruling.
The IAAF's threat to suspend the runners would, in effect, have meant the U.S. would not have any 400 runners at the Barcelona Olympics.
Siler's ruling virtually ended that possibility, and it was officially ended when Mimi Dane, a lawyer for Reynolds, said the fight was over.
"This certainly isn't a victorious feeling for TAC," Frank Greenberg, TAC president, said. "Butch Reynolds is a world-class athlete.
"We have to do something to make sure that something like this never happens again where athletes are more interested in court than getting ready for their event.
"We felt like we did everything that we could for Butch. I don't think any court in the U.S. would have put Butch on the line."
"First, although the plaintiff has shown that unless he is granted preliminary relief, he may be irreparably harmed by not being able to compete in the Olympic trials in New Orleans, nevertheless, he has not shown irreparable harm
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beyond that, for the IAAF has already indicated that it will not allow him to compete in the Olympics, and there is some question by this court whether the IAAF can be forced to allow the plaintiff to compete in the Olympics, if it could be forced to allow him to compete in the Olympic trials," Siler said.
"Granting the relief would not further the public interest and would harm other interested individuals, to wit, those competing athletes, Steve Lewis, Danny Everett and Antonio Pettigrew, who have sought to intervene, inasmuch as competition by the plaintiff in the Olympic trials might very well eliminate one or more others who compete."
"If need be, I will be accompanied by two 6-foot-6 marshals packing or by an officer of the Louisiana police department," Reynolds had said earlier. " . . . They thought they would get rid of Butch Reynolds. . . . But they're not going to get rid of Butch Reynolds.
"Butch Reynolds is not going to contaminate any athlete, because I am not guilty. . . . Butch Reynolds is innocent . . . of all accusations.
"The judge in Columbus, Ohio (Joseph Kinneary) stated that any athlete who runs against Butch Reynolds will not be contaminated."
While Reynolds remained confident of competing and vowing he would make the three-man 400-meter team despite the mental stress of the past 21 months, some other runners in the 400 were concerned about competing against him and possibly being suspended.
"If he runs, he ends our dream," Willie Caldwell said. "He's putting 31 other quarter-milers in jeopardy.
"It's a tough decision. If I don't run, I don't have a shot at the team. If I run, I'm banned. It's a no-win situation."
"It's confusing," Marlin Cannon said. "We don't know whether to run or not. The IAAF is very powerful and we don't know what they're going to do. We're caught in the middle."
Now, they can run without reservations.
TAC executive director Ollan Cassell said he was in favor of changing the IAAF's contamination rule.
"The IAAF shouldn't be put in a position of going against a court order," said Cassell, also an IAAF vice president.
Lewis, the world record-holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 100, won his first-round heat in a conservative 10.33 seconds, then finished second to Mike Marsh in the quarterfinals.
With Lewis competing in three events, including the 200 and long jump, in the 10-day trials at hot and humid Tad Gormley Stadium, he was obviously saving energy while running well enough to advance to Saturday's semifinals.
Burrell, the former world record-holder, approached his first race differently than his long-time training partner.
He won his opening heat in 10.09, the fastest time of the first round, then said, "I wanted to set the tone for the first round. If you don't do that, you have to play catch-up."
However, he relaxed in round two, finishing second in 10.27 to little-known Ricky Carrigan of Compton College (10.24).
Marsh, the fastest American this year at 9.93, won his opening heat in 10.29, edging former world record-holder Calvin Smith with a late burst, then beat Lewis in 10.09. Lewis was timed in 10.17.
Andre Cason, the 1991 world indoor sprint champion and world indoor record-holder at 60 meters, saw his Olympic dreams shattered when he injured his left Achilles' tendon during his heat.
Cason, who entered the race with an injury to the tendon, pulled up at 50 meters, crumpling to the track in severe pain. He was carried off on a stretcher and treated in the medical tent.
Cason also ran the leadoff leg on the U.S. 400-meter relay team, including Lewis, Burrell and Dennis Mitchell, that set the world record last year.
The first two rounds of the women's 100 also were run, and there were no surprises.
Gwen Torrence, the 1991 world champion silver medalist, had the fastest time, winning her second-round heat in 11.10. Carlette Guidry (11.12) and Esther Jones (11.15) were the other second-round heat winners.
Also advancing to Saturday's semifinals were 1984 Olympic gold medalist Evelyn Ashford and 1992 world leader Gail Devers.