Y. coach will sprint in 100-meter semis

ATHENS — Assistant BYU track coach Leonard Myles-Mills, running for his native Ghana, qualified for the semifinals in the signature event of the Olympic Games, the 100-meter sprint, at Olympic Stadium Saturday, surviving the first two rounds of qualifying heats. But former Cougar sprinter Frank Fredericks of Namibia did not fare as well, making it through the first round before coming up just short in his second heat.

At 36, Fredericks was the oldest runner, by three years, of any of the 84 runners entered. He won his opening heat, with the top three qualifying to the next round, by running 10.12 seconds, his fastest time of the year.

But in his second heat he was slower, at 10.17, and finished fourth of eight runners. At that, he was the first runner not to make the semifinals, and his time was actually better than Myles-Mills, who posted a 10.18.

But Myles-Mills finished third in his heat, good enough to move on. The rules allowed three qualifiers from each of five heats, plus the next fastest runner from all the heats. Jason Gardener of France got the at-large spot with a 10.15 clocking, one spot ahead of Fredericks.

Myles-Mills, at 31 the fifth oldest entrant in the competition, ran 10.21 in his first heat, also finishing third.

"I'm extremely happy," said Myles-Mills, who lives in Provo. "I don't think I saved anything out there, yet I feel like I have something left. My goal coming in was to make the finals."

To do that, Myles-Mills will have to survive stiff competition in the semis. He will be running in a heat that includes Asafa Powell of Jamaica and Maurice Greene of the United States, each with a 9.91 clocking this year. Both the semifinal and final races are scheduled for tonight.

Myles-Mills, the 1998 and 1999 NCAA 100-meter champion for BYU, hadn't run competitively for much of the year because of a stress fracture that flared up at the indoor world championships in March in Budapest.

"I took 12 weeks off, and the doctors thought I needed more time," he said, "but if I had I would have missed all the fun."

Fredericks, also a former BYU NCAA champion, will live to sprint another day as he is also entered in the 200-meter competition that starts with two rounds of qualifying on Tuesday. The semifinals are Wednesday and the final is Thursday (Myles-Mills is not entered in the 200). It will be the veteran runner's last chance at Olympic gold, something that has slipped from his grasp four times.

In 1992 and 1996 he was second in both the 100 and 200. He also has four silver medals from world championships. He won one world championships in 1993 in the 200. He did not compete at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 because of injury.

"I came here for myself," said Fredericks. "It was just something I wanted to do. It's a great feeling to be on the biggest stage in the world.

"It was nice to race with the new generation. I felt good in the morning (heat) but didn't feel as good tonight. These young guys can really run. They're doing 9.89, 9.94 like it's nothing. Realistically, it would have been extra torture for me to prepare for the final."

In his prime, Fredericks ran as fast as 9.86 in 1996 — and, at that, took second in the Olympics when Donovan Bailey of Canada ran 9.84, equaling the world record.

"This gives me one extra day's rest," said Fredericks, putting the best spin on things. "I can use it."

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E-mail: lbenson@desnews.com