ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607300065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
OLYMPIC ATHLETES, once they learned what had happened early Saturday, said the tragedy put their own lives in perspective.
In the first few hours after a bomb interrupted the Atlanta Games, one recurring question echoed from the venues to the Olympic Village:
Were any athletes injured in the Centennial Olympic Park blast downtown that stopped a concert by Jack Mack and the Heart Attack?
It seemed most athletes didn't know two had died and 110 were injured, because they were sleeping in the village on the Georgia Tech campus.
With Saturday being one of the busiest days of competition, the last thing they needed was to be awakened with sobering and frightening news.
At the women's platform diving semifinals Saturday at the aquatics center next to the village, first-time U.S. Olympian Becky Ruehl didn't hear about the blast until shortly before the competition began at 11:30a.m.
``I didn't know about it until right after practice, when a reporter told me,'' said Ruehl, who entered last night's final round in third place. "It was about 11. I had no idea anything happened until then.''
Superheavyweight boxer Lawrence Clay-Bey was stunned by the news. "What can I say? It just shows you how unimportant the biggest event in the sporting world is compared with people dying. I can't put into words the shock I felt when I heard about it. I called my family and told them to be careful no matter where they were."
It was also that way for many athletes arriving early for the track and field competition that started at 8:30 a.m. They learned when they got on buses to go to the new Olympic stadium, or from other athletes during warm-ups.
LeRoy Walker, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said American athletes were "reassured that security and precautions are stringent at the Olympic villages and the competition venues.''
"Our athletes intend to compete in their events,'' Walker said, "and we refuse to let the cowardly acts of those who have so little regard for human life to dictate the course of their lives here in Atlanta.''
After the blast, security at the Olympic Village was tightened.
The athletes who did leave Atlanta on Saturday likely were previously scheduled to do so. The swimming competition had ended Friday night. Beach volleyball closed Saturday. Other sports have already awarded gold medals and packed, too.
"This really dampens the Olympic spirit,'' said Jeff Rouse, the two-time Atlanta gold-medal swimmer from Fredericksburg, on Saturday morning. "I don't think it will bother the athletes once they start competing. You learn to deal with a lot of outside distractions.
"It's just sad this had to happen.''
A short time after the blast, the Main Press Center was evacuated. It is located in the block-square Inforum building across the street from Centennial Park.
Journalists were delayed in getting back into the facility, and the media shuttles to the MPC were shut down or delayed until about 10 a.m. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and International Olympic Committee had news briefing every two hours through 2p.m.
A Turkish TV cameraman, Melih Uzunyol, suffered an apparent heart attack when the bomb went off about 1:20a.m.
The blast also killed Alice S. Hawthorne, 44, of Albany, Ga.CHIF, PLEASE CHECK THIS AGAINST SPELLING IN STORY - I GOT IT FROM CUTLINE, and ACOG and the FBI said 100 were injured.
Woody Johnson, special agent in charge of the Atlanta office of the FBI, said the bomb was homemade, "a pipe bomb or bombs all contained within a knapsack.''
In a news briefing about 12 hours after the blast, Johnson confirmed a 911 call to the Atlanta Police Department, apparently saying a bomb was in the park.
"Our people on the scene already knew of the device and were attempting to deal with it,'' Johnson said. "Unfortunately, it went off in a very short period of time.''
Bomb squads brought to Atlanta especially for the Olympics had been contacted and were located. Johnson said a bomb-diagnostic team, including agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, were on the scene.
"They arrived within three minutes,'' Johnson said. "They observed the knapsack and were able to see wires and what appeared to be a pipe in the knapsack. The three immediately began to clear the area. ... Within two or three minutes of the time they began to clear the area, the device went off.''
The location - the source determined by the caller ID that's part of 911 systems - of the bomb threat was about three blocks from the bomb site in a bank of public telephones near the intersection of Spring and Simpson streets. That area was cordoned off quickly Saturday.
Johnson said that after several FBI agents and administrators who heard the taped voice believe the caller was a white male "with an undistinguishable accent.'' When asked if the statement about the accent meant "American,'' Johnson replied, "Correct.''
Johnson said that in the week since the Atlanta Games began, bomb disposal teams have been dispatched to 35 different locations. "This is the only live device that we know of that has been detected in more than 100 callouts,'' he said.
Security remained consistent, and tight, at Olympic sports venues, where all spectators and working personnel must pass through metal detectors and have their tickets or credentials scanned. All bags are opened and checked.
There was one difference Saturday for the track and field competition at the 83,000-seat Olympic Stadium, the Games showplace. Before the gates were opened to the public for each of the day's two sessions, National Guard troops went through the stands with bomb-sniffing dogs, checking each row.
Francois Carrard, the director general of the IOC, said he awakened IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch about 3 a.m. with news of the bombing. After meetings involving the IOC and ACOG, it was determined the Games would continue.
"We never came close to canceling them,'' Carrard said at a midmorning news conference. "After we had the facts we needed, we decided the Games would continue.''
Carrard praised the law enforcement response to the bombing and said if the police agencies and FBI hadn't responded "as they did, it is likely we would have had many more fatalities and injuries. So, we are still totally confident. This is the sort of incident, which, in our society, can happen anywhere at any time.''
The Olympic flags at each venue were lowered to half-staff, as were the Turkish flags, in honor of Uzunyol. A moment of silence was held before each session of the Games on Saturday as well.
Competition at virtually every venue began on time, despite the tragedy and investigation. A bigger problem was the rain, which began about 9:30a.m.
"We cannot, even in the face of this tragedy, call off the Games,'' said Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell. "We continue to go on living. It is correct that we go on.''
LENGTH: Long : 128 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. The Olympic flag flies at half-staff Saturday afterby CNBthe early morning blast in Olympic Centennial Park, which brought a
sobering outlook to the remainder of the Atlanta Games. color.