Crawford wins in U.S. clean sweep
ATHENS, Greece -- Shawn Crawford denied fellow American Justin Gatlin a sprint double as he set up a United States clean sweep in the Olympic men's 200m final.
The race, though, was marred by ugly scenes and delayed for five minutes when the packed 75,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium began booing and chanting "Kenteris, Kenteris!" and "Hellas, Hellas!"
Kostas Kenteris, Greece's 2000 Olympic champion in the event, withdrew from the Games after missing a drugs test.
Crawford timed 19.79 seconds. Silver went to Bernard Williams (20.01) with Gatlin, the 100m winner, taking the bronze (20.03).
It was the first American clean sweep in the event since 1984.
The crowd spared only one man with their jeers before the start, cheering wildly when former 200 world champion Frank Fredericks, set to retire after Athens, was introduced.
The Namibian began pleading with them to be quiet as the protest continued. Fredericks finished his top-level career with fourth place.
"I think I understood what they (the Greek spectators) were going through," said Crawford.
"We are here at the birthplace of the Olympics and the defending champion is from Greece and he was not allowed to compete.
"I can understand that they were upset but I don't know why they had to react like this."
The 26-year-old Crawford, who just missed out with fourth in the 100, was in control on the crown of the bend in his specialist event before winning comfortably.
Before Thursday, Crawford had a reputation for being more clown than the showman he aspires to be.
Once he raced a zebra and a giraffe on American television, beating the latter but outsprinted by the former. He demanded a rematch, accusing the zebra of a false start. Then there was the time two years ago when he wore a 'Phantom of the Opera' mask in a race in Italy. The mask slipped, Crawford ran out of his lane and was disqualified.
Invincible Sanchez proves dominant
Red-hot favorite Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic streaked to victory in the men's 400 meters hurdles final.
Four days shy of his 27th birthday, the New York-born world champion flowed over the barriers to take gold in a time of 47.63 seconds.
Jamaica's Danny McFarlane took silver in 48.11 with France's Naman Keita collecting bronze in 48.26.
Sanchez, who is unbeaten in more than 40 races and last lost in July 2001, is the Dominican Republic's first Olympic gold medallist.
Their only other Olympic medal was a boxing bronze won by bantamweight Pedro Nolascos in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
After a false start that was accredited to at least three athletes including Sanchez, the favorite sped out of the blocks and quickly opened a lead over his principal pre-race rival James Carter of the United States, who had set the fastest time in the world this year.
Carter was level with Sanchez coming off the final bend but in the home straight the classy Sanchez left the field trailing and Carter went backwards, eventually finishing a ragged fourth behind delighted Frenchman Keita.
Sanchez is still some way short of the 1976 and 1984 Olympic champion Ed Moses, who enjoyed a 122-race unbeaten streak spanning nine years.
But he is the most dominant performer presently active in track and field.
Sanchez's parents were born in the Dominican Republic but he was raised in California. He wears a flashing wristband on his right wrist, a souvenir from the Sydney Olympics, where he only reached the semi-finals.
Phillips too strong in long jump
Dwight Phillips of the United States completed a hat-trick of global long jump titles when he crushed the field with his opening leap to win Olympic gold.
The 2003 world champion indoors and out set the standard with his first jump of 8.59 meters.
It was one centimetre off his best, set in Austria three weeks ago, 28cm better than anyone else in the field had managed this season and better than anyone else in the world had produced for four years.
He registered only one more jump, 8.35 in the final round, by which time the gold medal was already his.
John Moffitt made it an American one-two when he improved his personal best by 18cm with a fifth-round leap of 8.47 while Spain's Joan Lino Martinez got bronze with 8.32, also a personal best.
Cloete flies into final
Double world champion Hestrie Cloete flew into the Olympic women's high jump final with a perfect display.
The South African, with her unique double-arm lift-off, cleared every jump up to the qualifying height of 1.95 meters by big margins.
Cloete won the world championships last year without missing a jump on the way to 2.06m and gold.
Russian Yelena Slesarenko, Cloete's closest challenger this year after winning the world indoor title in March, missed one of six jumps to go through as well.
Croatia's former world junior champion Blanka Vlasic, whose season's best of 2.03 is one centimeter behind Cloete's and Slesarenko's joint leading world mark, had a tougher time.
Vlasic had a scare with two failures at her opening 1.85 and another at 1.89, shaking her head in frustration, before suddenly finding her form just in time.
The 20-year-old arrived in Athens with a virus and considered withdrawing because she felt so ill.
