Before the World Championships of track and field started, athletes were lining up to mix their events, trying rare combinations of two individual events instead of one.
Now that line has dwindled, and only Michael Johnson remains on course.Marie-Jose Perec changed her mind, deciding against the 400 hurdles, even before she won the 400 meters. Now Haile Gebrselassie is sure he won't go for the 5,000, even after winning the 10,000.
Gail Devers decided before she arrived that she was not going to try the same 100-100 hurdles double she came up with two years ago at the Worlds in Stuttgart.
But Johnson, who has won the 200 and 400 meters at different World Championships, was going for his first leg today in the 400. He plans to go for the 200, too, starting Thursday.
If Perec had kept to her prechampionship aim to win both races over 400 meters, she would have had to run the first round of the hurdles not long before the 400 final.
"We thought I couldn't do two races," Perec said about herself and coach John Smith. "We had only 2 hours, 45 minutes between races. It would have been too much for my legs."
"It's better to walk away from here with one victory than two losses," Smith said.
What appeared possible before the championship started proved improbable, especially when Perec strained a hamstring.
Gebrselassie said at the start of the championships he would make up his mind about the 5,000 after he ran the 10,000.
The Ethiopian won the longer race with an impudent burst from a five-strong pack of African stars in the last 200 meters. He waited until one of his rivals moved to the front and then left them all trailing by 10 yards with a surge of speed they couldn't counter.
Both Perec and Gebrselassie were impressive winners on day five of the championships.
The French runner was ahead for most the 400 hurdles and powered away from a high-quality field, including defending champion Jearl Miles, to win by eight yards in 49.28 seconds.
Australia's Commonwealth champion, Cathy Freeman, had the silver medal almost in her hand, but was overtaken in the last 50 meters by Pauline Davis of the Bahamas and Miles, who both finished strong.
Davis had a personal record 49.96 and Miles clocked 50.00, while Freeman, the Commonwealth titlist, was fourth in 50.60.
For most of the 10,000 final, Gebrselassie was in a cat-and-mouse battle with three Kenyans - Joseph Kimani, Paul Tergat and Josephat Machuka - and two Moroccans, Khalid Skah and Salah Hissou. With 600 meters to go, any one of them could have won.
With 200 left, the Ethiopian made his move and Skah, the Olympic champion, responded. But Gebrselassie's break took him 10 yards clear in the straightaway, and it was enough to finish off the chasers.
He crossed the line in a championship record 27 minutes, 12.95 seconds with Skah second in 27:14.53.
Javier Sotomayor, who went into the championships as world and Olympic champion and world record holder in the high jump, lost one of those titles.
Hampered by a left ankle injury, the Cuban struggled throughout the final, twice failing to clear his first height, 7 feet, 41/2 inches, and only making 7-91/4 at his third attempt.
Troy Kemp of the Bahamas got to 7-91/4 with much less difficulty and, when both failed to clear 7-10, the title went to the Bahamanian for his country's first gold medal in the Worlds.