Misfired Bullet

In the 2003 World Championship in Paris, men`s 100m race drew much attention with the competition between ‘Human Bullets.’ The hero, however, was proved to be Kim Collins (27) from St. Kitts & Nevis, a small country in the central North America with less than 40,000 population.

In the finals of man`s 100 m, held at the Saint-Denis Stadium in Paris on Aug.26, five players including Collins passed through the finish line almost simultaneously. It was decided by the photograph that Collins won the victory with 10.07seconds. The new player from Trinidad & Tobago Darrel Brown (19), Dwain Chambers, and Daren Cambell (both British) ranked 2,3 and 4 with same record of 10.08 seconds. It was the narrowest win in history.

Tim Montgomery (U.S.A.) with the world record was a promising winner, but ranked 5 with 10.11secs. Maurice Greene (U.S.A.) who challenged the 4 consecutive victories was left out at the semi-finals with 10.37.

Collins, who is just 1m74 tall and 67kg of weight, is relatively small for a sprint athlete. Moreover as he shakes his head to left and right when he scuds, he loses at least 0.1∼0.2. Yet, Collins showed off dynamic speed up to 30m∼70m, and grabbed the victory.

His record is the slowest for a victory since Carl Lewis topped with 10.07secs in the 1983 World Championship in Helsinki. If Montgomery had finished the line with his best record, Collins would have been 2.88m behind him.

Collins showed his talent in sprint from when he was a child, and he was trained in Jamaica. His best record so far had been the third ranking in 200 m at the 2001 Edmilton Championship. He was unknown to the public as he just ranked 6, 7 in the 100m and as he set up his personal best record of 9.98secs in only last July.

St. Kitts & Nevis, which is a small island in the Caribbean Sea with land size of 261km², is in a festive mood with the victory of Collins. It is the best news for the island since its independence from Britain in 1983.

Meanwhile, in women`s pole vault, Svetlana Feofanova(23) cleared 4m75, setting the record for the game. In hammer throwing, Ivan Ticon from Belarus won with 83m05, and the pride of Japan, Murohusi Goji ranked third (80m12).

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com