A 17-year-old Chinese gymnast was paralysed on the third day of the Goodwill Games in New York after falling during the warm-up for the vault event. National vault champion Sang Lan was taken to Nassau Medical Centre in East Meadow, New York, after fracturing two vertebrae in her back. Lan was listed in critical but stable condition yesterday. She will undergo a spinal fusion operation tomorrow.
"At this time she cannot move her legs," said Goodwill Games doctor Brock Schnebel. "She has a minimal movement of her arms. She cannot feel from her mid-chest down." Schnebel said he did not know if her paralysis is permanent.
Lan apparently lost her bearings while in the air in a practice vault and landed on her head on the mat before competition began. She was carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital. Lan is one of three Chinese women to compete in the gymnastic event.
On the track, American world champion Maurice Greene won the 100 metres from a field which included Canadian Olympic champion and world record holder Donovan Bailey. Greene exploded out of the blocks to win in 9.96 seconds ahead of his Trinidadian training partner Ato Boldon.
"I knew I had to capitalise on the start to win," Greene said. "These guys are tough at the start and I had to be tougher."
Beating Bailey was of special import to both Greene and Trinidadian Ato Boldon, the world 200 metres champion. A tense sporting rivalry turned into active dislike this year after some derogatory remarks attributed to the Canadian.
According to reports from Australia, Bailey questioned the pair's performances, hinting that they may not have been achieved by strictly legal methods. Boldon was especially angered.
"I feel as though I've lost a friend," Boldon said after finishing second to Greene. "That's the most hurtful thing, this is about being a man and how you treat your opponents."
Bailey, who has only recently returned to full training after a car accident last October, shot out of the blocks on the gun, only for the field to be recalled through a false start by his compatriot Bruny Surin. On the restart, he was last out and the race was effectively over before it had begun.
Greene won in 9.96, followed by Boldon with another American Brian Lewis in third place. Bailey almost strolled through the line in seventh place, which also irritated Greene and Boldon. "I'm sad that he did that," Greene said, "I don't know what is going through his mind. I can't worry about him, I have only myself to worry about."
Double Olympic champion Michael Johnson returned to form with a year's best of 43.76 seconds in the men's 400 metres and Noureddine Morceli was similarly convincing in the men's mile.
Morceli, who lost his world 1,500 metres record to Hicham El Guerrouj this month, took control of the race at the bell and easily held off Daniel Komen to win in three minutes 53.39 seconds.
Six times world pole vault champion Sergei Bubka failed to record a valid height for the second time this season, allowing American Jeff Hartwig to win in a year's best of 6.01 metres.
