Forty-four gold medals were awarded at the World Championships. None carried more significance than the one Primo Nebiolo gave to Butch Reynolds.
It was a fitting ending to a spectacular nine-day championships: a world record for the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team and a gold-medal embrace of reconciliation between Reynolds and Nebiolo."Primo actually gave me the gold medal!" Reynolds exclaimed. "I've been shooting for this forever . . . I feel vindicated. I feel as a complete man."
"Primo Nebiolo was once at war with me big time," he said. "I think I have his respect now, as an individual not just as an athlete."
Reynolds, the world record-holder at 400 meters, and Nebiolo, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, waged a bitter long-distance battle for three years.
The IAAF suspended Reynolds in 1990 after he was charged with a positive drug test. Reynolds said he was innocent and fought the case in U.S. courts.
Reynolds failed in his bid to win reinstatement for the Barcelona Olympics, but he won a $27.3 million judgment against the IAAF last December.
The IAAF has refused to accept the ruling or pay Reynolds a cent. Reynolds, meanwhile, returned to competition this year after serving a 21/2-year suspension - a period he refers to as a "nightmare."
It ended with a dream race Sunday evening in the final event of the championships as Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Reynolds and Michael Johnson shattered the relay record by more than a second.
Valmon kicked off the relay with a 44.5 leg, Watts followed at 43.6, Reynolds at 43.2 and Johnson closed with the fastest relay leg in history - 43.0.
The time was 2 minutes, 54.29 seconds, erasing the previous mark of 2:55.74 set by an American team on the final day of the Barcelona Games.
"A legend that will stand for 20 years," said Reynolds of the record.
Waiting in the tunnel before the medal ceremony, Reynolds and Nebiolo came face-to-face. Nebiolo congratulated him and Reynolds said, "So are you going to give me the medal?"
Nebiolo confirmed that he would. A few minutes later, Reynolds was so excited that he hopped off the podium to receive the medal and Nebiolo motioned him back up onto the stand with the other athletes.
Lamine Diack of Senegal, an IAAF vice president, presented the medal to Valmon, Johnson and Watts. Then Reynolds bent down and Nebiolo draped the medal around his neck. Nebiolo patted him on the face, kissed him on both cheeks Italian-style and clasped both of his hands.
"He told me, `You're very strong, very strong," Reynolds said. "I told him, `Thanks for the medal.' What else could I say? I was speechless. I was very touched. I was touched deeply."
Nebiolo said he, too, was touched.
"I have been considering this gesture for a long time and I was waiting for the right moment to express my appreciation to Reynolds," he said. "He is an athlete I have always admired and I love as I love all the athletes."
Reynolds, however, said the legal battle is not over.
"It's not totally over yet because we still have a judgment to be settled," he said. "As far as the judgment, hopefully we can come to some kind of agreement on the award. There's personal, and business. Personal is gone. Business still exists."
The U.S. men's 400-meter relay team of Jon Drummond, Andre Cason, Dennis Mitchell and Leroy Burrell, which had equalled the world record of 37.40 in Saturday's semifinals, won the gold in 37.48.
The women's 1,600-meter relay team of Gwen Torrence, Maicel Malone, Natasha Kaiser-Brown and Jearl Miles set a championship record of 3:16.71 in beating the Russians by nearly 25 meters.
But the Russians prevented an American relay sweep, winning the women's 400-meter event in a photo finish as Irina Privalova edged Gail Devers at the tape. Both teams were clocked in 41.49, a championship record.
In the men's 10,000, Haile Gebresilasie became Ethiopia's first gold medalist in championship history after defending champion Moses Tanui of Kenya kicked off his left shoe starting the final lap.
Tanui, who had been complaining to Gebresilasie throughout the race that he was kicking him from behind, finally became so enraged after being clipped on the left foot starting the bell lap that he kicked off the shoe.
The Kenyans protested Gebrelsilasie's victory, but the Jury of Appeals rejected it.
Dong Liu gave China a sweep of the women's distance races, winning the 1,500 in 4:00.50 as Olympic gold medalist and defending champion Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria finished third, behind Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan.
Noureddine Morceli, the world record-holder and defending champion in the men's 1,500 who had threatened to boycott the championships because of lack of prize money, won in 3:34.24.
Cuba's Javier Sotomayor, the world record-holder and Olympic champion in the high jump, won at 7 feet, 101/2 inches, then missed twice at a world record 83/4 before stopping.
The United States finished the championships with the most medals, 26, including 13 golds. Russia was second in medals with 16, three golds, while China was runner-up in golds with four.