ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607220165
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
Tom Dolan gave America its first gold medal of the Olympics, the biggest prize so far in his nation's surprising swimming domination.
He and Eric Namesnik finished 1-2 in the 400-meter individual medley Sunday night, and 14-year-old Amanda Beard charged from seventh place in the final 50 meters to capture silver in the women's 100 breast stroke.
The United States' big night at the pool reached a climax in the men's 800 freestyle relay. Brad Schumacher overtook Sweden for the lead at about 500 meters and Ryan Berube stretched the advantage in the final 200-meter leg.
That gold medal brought America's swimming haul to four medals for the night and seven - two golds, four silvers and a bronze - in two nights of swimming.
``It was a little more pressure trying to get the first U.S. gold. It's one of the great thrills of my life,'' Dolan said.
Only Germany with five and Australia with two have more than one medal.
Fifteen minutes after Beard just missed catching Penny Heyns of South Africa, Dolan and Namesnik stood with bronze medalist Curtis Myden of Canada on the medals stand.
With a ring in his left ear, a small American flag in his right hand and a gold medal around his neck, Dolan stood for his national anthem.
One banner in the crowd read, ``Dolan is Golden.'' President Clinton's daughter Chelsea stood and applauded. When the anthem ended, Dolan, palms up, repeatedly lifted both hands, urging the crowd on as it chanted ``U-S-A, U-S-A.''
And Beard, who will be a high school sophomore in September, stood barefooted as she bent forward to receive her silver medal later.
Dolan, the world record-holder in the 400 IM, and Namesnik traded the lead for the first 300 meters. And after the first 50 meters of the final stroke, the freestyle, Namesnik led by three-hundredths of a second.
But Dolan overtook his University of Michigan training partner and won in 4 minutes, 14.90 seconds. His world record is 4:12.30. Namesnik finished in 4:15.25, and Myden in 4:16.28.
``I'm glad he was there to push me,'' Dolan said of Namesnik. ``I knew if I stayed with the leader, I was going to win. I had a lot of confidence in my finish,''
``I was right beside Dolan so I just wanted to stay with him as long as I could and take it in hard'' to the finish, Namesnik said.
In the morning qualifying trials, Namesnik finished first and Dolan, who interrupted his stroke to get water out of his goggles, was third.
Beard said after her morning qualifying heat that she needed a better start. She didn't get it and her medal chances were in serious danger halfway through her race.
But she posted the best time in the final 50 meters and finished in 1:08.09, an American record. Heyns, who set a world record of 1:07.02 in qualifying, won in 1:07.72. Samantha Riley of Australia was third in 1:09.18.
In the first race of the night, Claudia Poll gave Costa Rica its first Olympic swimming gold medal as she won the 200 freestyle.
When it ended, she lay on her back in the middle of the pool, raising a tiny Costa Rican flag and shifting between joyful tears and broad smiles.
She won by overtaking world record-holder Franziska van Almsick of Germany, who held on for silver in 1:58.57. Poll's winning time was 1:58.16.
The United States missed out on a medal by the length of a fingernail. Dagmar Hase of Germany outstretched Trina Jackson of Jacksonville, Fla., to gain the bronze in 1:59.56. Jackson was just one-hundredth of a second behind.
``I don't even remember the race,'' Jackson said. ``I just remember touching the wall, looking up and seeing I was one one-hundredth behind.''
The United States won the 800 relay for the eighth time in the nine Olympics it has participated in since 1960. Its winning time was 7:14.84. Sweden finished in 7:17.56 and Germany in 7:17.71.
Poll, 23, passed van Almsick about 80 meters into the 200 freestyle race and never gave up her lead. Her sister, Silvia, won Costa Rica's only other Olympic swimming medal, a silver in the 200 freestyle in 1988.
The other American, Cristina Teuscher, of New Rochelle, N.Y., finished sixth.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. American Eric Namesnik performs the backstrokeby CNBduring the men's 400-meter IM on his way to a silver medal on
Sunday. Winner Tom Dolan captured the U.S.'s first gold medal.
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