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Team USA quotes - Thursday evening session
Men's 400m, Final
LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.)
It
was a great race. I said that I was going to come in and get the job
done. It started raining earlier and I said, "Let it come." The harder
it rained, the harder I was going to run. Then when it stopped raining,
I said, "I'm still going to run hard."
In the
semifinals, I looked smooth and almost PRed. So I knew that I was going
to come out and run faster than I've ever ran. I set the race up and I
probably went over it a million times in my head last night. I had a
game plan. We had a game plan, we stuck to it, got a gold medal and I'm
happier than I've ever been.
The game plan was to
get out and use what I have. I'm 6'3". I went over some stuff last
night and saw that some people were taking less steps than me in the
race. And I'm 6'3", so why is that? I'm not using what I have. So I
used my stride length and ran a great race.
Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas)
I
got out front in the first 200. I felt good coming out of the turn, but
when I tried to go, I didn't have anything left. I ran the best I
could. I didn't have anything left. But I didn't give up.
I ran exactly how I wanted to. I just didn't have anything left.
I'm
disappointed. If I had run like I did in the semifinals, I think I
would have won. LaShawn just ran a better race than I did.
David Neville ( Valencia, Calif.)
Sometimes
we have to sacrifice our bodies, our minds, our spirits. That's what I
did. I knew I had to dive. I did have to dive for the medal. The United
States desires to be the number one team. This means a lot. To complete
a sweep, it means a lot.
Men's 110m hurdle final
David Payne (Hampton, Va.)
"I
feel like it was a really good race for me. It was my personal best for
this season. I knew I needed to get out quick because Dayron Robles is
a very fast starter. I wanted to be up there with him, and I got medal
for the USA. I'm glad to be able to prove that I can do it when I'm
supposed to be here. Our race would have been a lot faster with the
previous world record holder (Liu Xiang) and Terrence trammel in there.
Bu tit was still a great race. A couple of years ago, nobody knew who
David Oliver or I was."
David Oliver (Kissimmee, Fla.):
"The
race was pretty good. I got a medal. We wanted to come in and go 1-2-3.
Me and David went in and held up our end of the bargain. They only hand
out three medals every four years. ... To get one of them, you'll
always be remembered. Some of the all-time greats have never gotten a
medal."
On bumping another hurdler: "I got a little bit scared. I just tried to stay on it and got a medal out of it.
"Even
two years ago, who would have though David Payne and I would have been
in a position to get medals, except us and our support staff??"
Women's 200m final
Allyson Felix (Los Angeles):
The start was terrible and the end wasn't that great, but I'm still blessed.
I'm
grateful to say that I am disappointed with this medal when so many
people don't get the opportunity to say that. I'm grateful. I'm happy
and I'm going to hold my head up and be proud about it.
Muna Lee (Baton Rouge, La.):
I'm really happy with it. It was my best 200 in a long time. I ran the whole way through and that's what I was working for.
About being in lane 9: It
was actually really good for me because I wasn't worried about who was
in front of me. I was able to run my race and not somebody else's.
It was a disappointment, but then again, I was waiting on the time and when I saw it, I was very excited.
I wanted a medal, of course, but I PRed every time I stepped on the track. I can't complain. I could be home watching it on TV.
Marshavet Hooker (Pfugerville, Texas)
I
felt great, I'm happy about it. I gave it every last inch I had. I'm
happy with it. I knew I had to get out hard and work on the turn. I
moved, they moved, I just kept running. It was a great experience.
Men's 800m semifinal
Nick Symmonds (Springfield, Ore.)
Normally, I'm a lot smarter than that. I wanted things to string out a bit.
I
used up all my kick on the curve. I never do that. I don't know why. I
didn't show patience today. I got caught up in the Olympic moment, I
guess. That's why I'm not in the finals.
When the
pace started to slow, I felt incredible and I should have gone in
front. That's something that I need to work on. When you're in a race
with six or seven of the fastest guys in the world, you don't wait.
I told myself to go, but I was just waiting for it to pack up a bit.
Men's 4X100m semifinal
Tyson Gay (Lexington, Ky.)
I don't know. The stick was in my hand. I felt it hit my hand.We had some good handoffs in practice, so everything was going well.
"It
was probably my fault. Some people say that when it hits the hand, you
should have it. I'm a veteran. I've ran the relays, I've never dropped
a baton in my life."
Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, Texas)
My
job is to never let go until he securely has the baton. I thought he
had it but he didn't. It's unfortunate it happened in the Olympic
Games. We were confident.
Travis Padgett (Shelby, N.C.)
I
really couldn't see what happened from where I was standing. I think it
was a bad handoff. Things like that happen. I'm not going to blame
anybody. We're a team. We'll just have to come out and do better next
time. We'll try to win World Championships.
I
felt pretty good on my leg. I feel like I ran well. I felt like we were
going to be in the lead. We came out and we trained hard. We were going
for the world record and a gold. I think we had the team to do it.
On waiting for the relay: That's the hard part. The relay is always the end of the races. I was very anxious to come out.
Women's 4X100m semifinal
Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.)
I'm
not exactly sure what happened. We came out here to compete. We came
out here to run our hearts out and to get some revenge on Jamaica. You
have to do the first round before you do the second round. No excuses.
We had great chemistry. Things just didn't go as planned.
We
saw a few of the replays and it looked like it was a good handoff. The
stick had a mind of its own. It wasn't my fault and it wasn't Torri's
fault. It's just unfortunate.
The whole Games haven't gone quite as planned for Team USA in track and field.
If
people want to assess the blame to me, then that's okay. I can take
whatever it is that people are going to dish out. We have good
chemistry. The hand was there and she (Torri) was there. I just don't
know what happened.
The stick wasn't wet. We have no excuses and we're not going to make any excuses.
I
just knew when the stick went down that I was not walking to the finish
line so I picked it up and ran. I told my team that we're running
through the line no matter what.
Torri Edwards (Los Angeles)
I thought the baton was secure and I let go, but I guess it wasn't.
This was our revenge. We were going to go to the finals and win. It's very heartbreaking.
We just wanted to get to the finals.
Mechelle Lewis (Cary, N.C.)
We're
really disappointed, but we'll have to move forward from here. We work
on our relays at least three times a week since we've been in training
camp. I don't really know what happened. Sometimes you just have bad
passes. When you're in a situation where it's raining and the
adrenaline is flowing, things can happen. We don't really know what
happened, but we're going to go back and review the film and see how we
can improve for the next time.
Women's 1500m, qualifying
Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco)
"I
could tell from the beginning it was a fast heat. I was a little tired
at the end, but I was able to make it in. My legs will know what to do
Saturday. I'm sure it will be a fast race then. I'll have the strength
for it.
Erin Donohue (Haddonfield, N.J.)
I
didn't feel like I was boxed too bad. Coming off the curve, I was in
good position. I stayed pretty patient. I saw daylight, but I went
backwards instead of staying up. Things (bumps) happen when you're not
moving forward. I was tightening up before the contact was made.
Christin Wurth-Thomas (Fayetteville, Ark.)
We haven't done too much for a while. It's to come out there and get on
top. I felt tired today, but there's no explanation for it. I needed to
charge more. I feel stale. We went into hibernation for a bout 20 days.
Men's decathlon
Bryan Clay (Glendora, Calif.)
I
think I'm still in the lead. We have one more flight of the 400.
Hopefully I'll stay in the lead and we'll get home tonight and get into
our routine to be ready for tomorrow.
I had three
very, very good events. Then I had one not so good event, a poor event,
which was high jump. Then just an okay event in the 400, nothing
special in the 400, but it was okay. I think it'll be enough
I
don't know about scores. I really don't pay attention to scores until
we get to about the javelin, then I look to see what I need to do to
stay in the position that I'm in.
I'm coming out
tomorrow just trying to compete against the conditions and the
competitors. Hopefully I'll be the best one there and be at the top of
the podium at the end of the day.
I think every
event in the decathlon is important. You can't win the decathlon
without having all ten events. Anytime you have a poor event, that's
going to set you back a bit, and every time you have a good event,
that'll put you ahead.
I don't think it was the
rain. I think that I was a little fatigued. We started in the rain and
mentally and physically, it takes a lot to get through that and I think
I did it very well. That made me a little fatigued going into the high
jump and the 400.
Trey Hardee (Austin, Texas)
Just
a little something popped throwing the shot put. I had some pictures
taken during our break today and everything's fine. I'll be ready to go
for tomorrow. This is just precautionary and making sure nothing else
went wrong.
It was long. It's my first Olympics
and my first international experience, really. I'm not used to the all
day schedule. We were the first ones out here this morning and the last
ones to leave. It's unique, and I'm enjoying it. The fans are great.
It's the decathlon. Nobody's going to be happy with every event.
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