Ethiopian record-holder running hurt

SYDNEY, Australia — The weakness of mythical Greek figure Achilles was the physical vulnerability of his heel, hence the name Achilles' heel.

Another global legend of sorts is facing a similar disadvantage.

Ethiopia's Haile Gebreselassie, who has set 15 world records since 1994 and hasn't been beaten in the men's 10,000 meters since 1993, has an ailing right Achilles' tendon, which he injured while training in farmland in Ethiopia last December.

The injury forced him to shelve training for six weeks and considerably cut back his racing schedule this year. He's also called in his shoe sponsor, Adidas, which has crafted a specially designed shoe with an extra heel sport for when he defends his Olympic gold at the Sydney Summer Games.

Gebreselassie, called "The Emperor of the Track," is scheduled to run a preliminary heat on Friday night to qualify for Monday night's finals.

Another long-distance runner has left Sydney due to injury. Morocco's Salah Hissou, the former 10,000 meter record holder and reigning 5,000 meter champ, will not race, leaving the likes of Belgium's Mohammed Mourhit, the world cross country champion, and Kenya's Paul Tergat, the 1996 Olympic silver medalist, as Gebreselassie's top competitors.

RECORD-SETTING REFEREE: A milestone was set Sunday not by an athlete or a coach, but by a United States basketball referee. And it's someone who has been seen regularly at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Utah Jazz fans may recognize the name of Dee Kantner, one of two female referees in the NBA. She became the first female official to referee a men's Olympic basketball game.

A referee with USA Basketball and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for 14 years, Kantner worked the Angola-Spain game Sunday at The Dome.

LONG TIME COMIN' FOR U.S. SOFTBALL LOSS: When the United States and Japan take to the Olympic diamond, the two teams seem to take their time in deciding a winner.

Sunday afternoon, the U.S. baseball team needed 13 innings to defeat Japan in the tournament opener at Olympic Park Baseball Stadium. The game, which lasted three hours and 33 minutes, was the longest game in Olympic baseball history.

And Tuesday afternoon, Japan outlasted gold-medal favorite United States 2-1 in the longest game in Olympic softball history, an 11-inning affair that went three hours and 50 minutes.