A couple of athletes competing at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia once donned the Oregon colors of green and gold.
Two former Ducks — Karl Keska and Nick Rogers — journeyed to Sydney this summer to pit their skills against the world’s top competitors. Other athletes from Eugene and around the state also took part in the planet’s most celebrated sporting event.
Keska was the first Duck to compete at the 2000 Olympic Games, recording a personal-best time of 27 minutes, 44.09 seconds in the 10,000-meter semifinals on Wednesday.
The England representative, born in Wolverhampton, England, finished eighth in the 25-lap event as the top European in the field. Keska qualified for the 18-man final after placing sixth in the second of two preliminary heats three days prior with a then-personal-best time of 27:48.29.
Keska was joined at the finish line by two familiar faces from his days as a Duck. Former Arizona athlete Abdi Abdirahman and UCLA athlete Mebrahtom Kefelzighi finished 10th and 12th place, respectively.
The British Olympic Federation selected Keska to its Olympic team back in April after a then-personal-best effort of 28:00.56 in an IAAF meet in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 1.
Overall in the 10,000, returning Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia defended his title (27:18.20) and edged 1996 Olympic silver medalist Paul Tergat (27:18.29) in a down-to-the-wire final lap. Fellow Ethiopian Assefa Mezebu took the bronze medal.
Rogers, who posted an impressive 5,000-meter personal best of 13:18.50 on Aug. 5 at the Heusden meet in Brussels, Belgium, did not advance past Wednesday’s opening heat in his first Olympiad. The Snoqualmie, Wash., native dipped well below his lifetime best, managing just 13:46.18 in the 5,000’s preliminary race.
Rogers finished third at the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, then added the Olympic “A” qualifying standard with his performance at the Heusden meet.
A third Oregon alum, Kelly Blair LaBounty, qualified for the women’s heptathlon after a third-place finish in the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, but did not compete in Sydney due to injury.
Eugene hammer thrower Lance Deal, a silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, failed to qualify for his event’s finals. Before the games, Deal said that this would be his final season.
Also from Eugene, Maria Mutola won Mozambique’s first gold medal in the 800 meters, and local kayaker John Mooney qualified for today’s final in the K4 1000 race. Marla Runyan qualified for the 1,500-meter finals with a time of 4:06.14 on Thursday — her medal race takes place at 5:20 a.m. Saturday.
Tom Pappas of Azalea finished fifth overall in his first Olympic decathlon, making the trip after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials in July. Not far from Pappas’ hometown, swimmer Chris Thompson of Roseburg will take home a bronze medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Mike Kinkade of Tigard was on the U.S. baseball team that stunned Cuba, 4-0 on Wednesday, for the gold medal.
Shannon MacMillan, Conor Casey, Tiffeny Milbrett and Michelle French, all of the University of Portland, will compete for gold in the women’s soccer finals against Norway.
Elsewhere around the state, Portland Trailblazer Steve Smith is playing for the U.S. basketball team and is virtually a sure-fire bet to bring home a gold medal. Natalie Williams and DeLisha Milton, both from the now-defunct Portland Power, are leading the women’s basketball tournament in the race for the gold.
Courtenay Becker Day of The Dalles finished 21st in the sailing competition. Ken Brauckmiller of Portland played for the Netherlands’ baseball team but did not advance. Dave Daniels of Redmond is playing basketball for Canada. Rower Hilary Gehman of Portland finished second in repechage and fifth in the quadruple sculls.
Netherlands swimmer Inge de Bruijn and 1,500-meter runner Suzy Favor Hamilton trained in the state. Bruijn won golds in the 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle, plus a silver in the 400 freestyle relay. Hamilton advanced to her event’s semifinals.
Gladstone wrestler Matt Lindland won a silver medal, rower Amy Martin of Kent finished sixth and Wyndham St. John of Prineville, competing for Canada’s equestrian team, finished 23rd in his race.