Pappas wins decathlon, now Olympic favorite

SAINT-DENIS, France -- It was a painstakingly slow, yet totally sweet, victory lap.\nWith an American flag draped over his shoulders, Tom Pappas gingerly walked and lightly jogged around the track on which he had just wrapped up his world title in the decathlon.\nHe became the only American other than three-time champion Dan O'Brien to win the event, which traditionally crowns the "world's greatest athlete," at the World Championships.\n"The victory lap, I was so overwhelmed and tired at the same time. I didn't feel like jogging, I wish I could have walked the whole way, but a couple of guys kept telling me to hurry up," he said. "It was a very long two days. It feels like I've been here a month."\nComing into the final event of the grueling two-day decathlon with a huge lead, Pappas struggled to an 11th-place finish Wednesday night in the 1,500 meters and fell into the arms of U.S. teammate Paul Terek. It was a personal-best time in the 1,500 for Pappas, who has always struggled in that event.\nHe finished with 8,750 points. Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic was second with 8,634 and Dmitry Karpov of Kazakhstan won the bronze medal. Three-time defending champion Tomas Dvorak was fourth.\n"When I crossed the finish line, I was trying not to fall over," said Pappas, who at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds towers over most of his opponents.\nPappas, who was fifth at the Sydney Olympics, now will be considered a favorite for the 2004 Athens Games, where he'll also be a crowd favorite-his great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Greece.\nPappas' victory was one of the few bright spots for the U.S. team, which has been engulfed in controversy and has had mediocre results-including medal shutouts in events Americans usually rule, such as the men's 100 and the women's pole vault.\nThe latest brouhaha centers on allegations that sprinter Jerome Young, who was a surprise winner Tuesday in the 400 meters, failed a drug test in 1999 but was quietly cleared by U.S. officials.\nThe head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team should be stripped of its gold medal from the 2000 Olympics if Young, a member of that squad, indeed failed a drug test a year before the Sydney Games.\nThe Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that Young tested positive for a banned steroid in 1999 but was allowed to compete in the 2000 Games.\nIt had been known that an American gold medalist tested positive before the Sydney Olympics, but the name was not released by U.S. Olympic or track and field officials. The Times report cited documents and unidentified track sources familiar with the case.\nDick Pound, president of the anti-doping agency, told The Associated Press it had long been suspected in Olympic circles that the athlete was Young. Now that his name has been disclosed, Pound said, the U.S. team should be disqualified.\n"If it was doing the right thing, the USOC would tender the medals back before the IOC was forced to act," he said.\nYoung declined an AP request Wednesday for an interview. His coach said he was unaware of any positive test. The sport's world governing body and USA Track & Field said they couldn't comment on the report and were bound by an arbitration ruling not to release the name.\nThe furor over Young came one day after the U.S. team finished dealing with another controversy. American sprinter Jon Drummond withdrew from the meet Tuesday and said he was prematurely ending his season after a tantrum in the men's 100 quarterfinals. Despite that, world track officials threw him out anyway for "bringing the sport into disrepute."\nDrummond threw a fit Sunday after being disqualified for a false start. He sprawled on the track and then returned to the starting line, even after being red-carded. After finally leaving, he wept on an adjacent practice track as his heat was rerun 45 minutes later.\nIn other finals Wednesday, Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj won his fourth consecutive world title in the men's 1,500; Poland's Robert Korzeniowski won his third world title in the 50-kilometer walk; Russia's Svetlana Krivelyova won the women's shot put, and Mexico's Ana Guevara extended her winning streak to 20 races with the gold medal in the women's 400.\nAlso, Perdita Felicien of Canada, who has won two straight NCAA titles for Illinois, upset the favorites to win the women's 100 hurdles. Miesha McKelvy of the United States took bronze.\nKelli White, who won the women's 100 on Sunday, easily advanced to the 200 final scheduled for Thursday. Joining her in the final was U.S. teammate Torri Edwards, who won silver in the 100.