Section B·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, August 26, 1997
Champion runner returns
KC native is now the fastest man in track world
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Lining up yesterday to shake his hand and embrace his lanky frame, relatives and friends of Maurice Greene let him know they were proud of him, that they were praying for him, that he can do anything.
"I wanted to shake the hand of the fastest man in the world," one well-wisher told Greene after a news conference, where the 23-year-old runner accepted a key to the city and praise from city officials.
"You grew up!" another man exclaimed, pumping the hand of a member of the Schlagle High School Class of 1983 and the winner of the 100-meter dash at the World Championships in Athens on Aug. 3.
With a time of 9.86 seconds, Greene beat a stellar field that included defending world and Olympic champion Donovan Bailey. Bailey set the world record in the event — 9.84 seconds — in last year's Olympic final. Greene said he planned to beat that time.
In front of reporters and TV cameras, Greene talked about a rivalry
with Bailey and the great joy to know Bailey was in back of him at the World finals.
"If you want to be the best, you have to step up against the best," Bailey, who now lives in Los Angeles, told reporters.
"Amen!" responded a woman in the audience, one of several dozen friends and family who turned out for yesterday's ceremony. It seemed a common declaration among his community in Kansas City, Kan., a perpetual poor cousin of the bigger Kansas City across the river in Missouri.
"I always felt faster." Greene told reporters. "But it's not as fast as I'm going to feel." The audience affirmed the declaration with hoots and applause.
Greene attended Schlagle High School in Kansas City, Kan., then went to Park College in Missouri before returning to Kansas City, Kan., to attend the community college there.
All four children of Jackie and Ernest Greene took part in track at school.
"Maurice, being the baby, always said he was going to do it better," Mrs. Greene said.
"We encouraged all the kids in whatever they decided to do, to give it their all," Mrs. Greene said. "We didn't let them quit. Whatever they chose to do, they had to finish it."
Mrs. Greene said there was much
"It feels great. I always knew I had the support, but to see it physically is overwhelming."
Maurice Greene 100-meter dash world champion
Her son told the audience Monday he could sense the goodwill.
"I know every time I go out on the track I have your support," he told the audience.
support for all the children in their extended family, and among church members and the other parents of public school students.
On Sunday, an outing to Ricky's Pit Bar-B-Que turned into a pepparly and autograph signing session. Greene's boosters, some holding green balloons, chanted, "Greene means go. Greene means go."
Greene recalled getting off the plane this weekend and seeing his family and friends waiting for him.
"It feels great," he said. "I always knew I had the support, but to see it physically is overwhelming."
It's a little overwhelming for Greene's parents, too.
"I can't describe it," Mrs. Greene said of her pride. "It's a sick feeling. Headaches, chills. You have everything."
U.S. Open begins; upsets abound
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Five years ago at a clinic for junior tennis players, 12-year-old Venus Williams met Arthur Ashe and posed with him for a photograph.
Williams made her debut yesterday at the U.S. Open in a match that would have made Ashe on proud.
the first day of play in Arthur Ashe Stadium, she pummeled a 119 mph ace on her final point to finish a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 victory against Larisa Neiland.
Ashe devoted his last years to encouraging inner city kids like Williams, who
Ashe encouraged inner city kids to play tennis.
grew up on the southern edge of Los Angeles, to play tennis.
Williams' arrival at the U.S. Open came amid the birthday celebration of another African-American tennis pioneer, Althea Gibson, who turned 70 and won the first of her two straight national singles titles 40 years ago.
"It was definitely a privilege playing on this court," Williams said. "Arthur did a lot for the game, a lot for the world. He was a great role model. Not just on the court, but off the court.
Williams never doubted, even as a young girl, that she would one day play in the U.S. Open. She remembered playing with her sister Serena when they were children.
"When Serena and I played, we always just expected to be here," she said. "When I was 10, I had been playing, like, six years. So it was just what I expected, not what I hoped. I just knew I would be there."
After a nervous start, the No. 66 ranked Williams settled into a controlled power attack against the 31.
year-old Neiland, who is more accomplished as a doubles player. Williams' extraordinary raw talent and imposing height, which allow her to overcome a deficiency in coaching and too little experience in matches, was evident on a couple of leaping overheads.
Of her 119 mph ace, which matched the fastest serve of her career and was just a bit off Brenda Schultz-McCarthy's 123 mph record, Williams nonchalantly said she could hit it that fast whenever she wants.
"She's a breath of fresh air," said former champion John McEnroe.
Change was in the air all around the U.S. Open on a balmy first day as teen-agers Anna Kournikova and Lilia Osterloh also scored impressive victories.
Kournikova, a 16-year-old who is one of the most promising prospects on the women's tour, crushed Sabine Appelmans 6-2, 6-0. She reached the fourth round of the Open last year in her Grand Slam debut.
The 19-year-old Osterloh, who won the NCAA title last spring as a freshman at Stanford, gained her first victory as a pro by beating Barbara Rittner 63, 1, 6, 63.
"Even though I won my first round (at the Open) last year as an amateur, it's different now that I'm playing a professional. I'm really excited," said Osterloh, who is thankful she postponed her professional career until now.
Men's No. 4 Goran Ivanisevic, who has made an art of getting upset in curious ways in Grand Slam matches, fell 4.6, 7.5, 6.1, 7.6 (7-3) to No. 91 Dinu Pescariu of Romania. Ivanisevic lost in the first round at the French Open to Magnus Gustafsson, then lost in the second round at Wimbledon to Magnus Norman despite serving 46 aces.
The first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium was won by Tamarine Tanasugarn, a 20-year-old from Thailand, who beat Chanda Rubin 5-4, 6-0.
Arthur Ashe Stadium opens amid controversy
By Hal Bock The Associated Press
NEW YORK — At the new, improved U.S. Open, everything comes with a pricetag.
Since the new Arthur Ashe Stadium cost a fancy $254 million,
$10.50 for a hamburger and soft drink almost seems like a bargain.
The cheap seats, up in a stadium that seats 22,500, cost
$22. From there, the players look tiny.
Get past the prices and the place is really appealing. The stadium's red, brick facing has a Camden Yards feel about it and the theme is carried to some of the outer courts, which are walled-in by the brick facade.
The only thing missing is some explanation for future generations of just who Ashe, the tennis humanitarian whose name appears over the entrance, was.
Some of the VIP fans, accustomed to courtside seats in the old stadium, found themselves moved away to accommodate luxury boxes and filed complaints with the New York attorney general's office.
It wouldn't be the Open without a dash of controversy, though. The official dedication of the new stadium was conducted Monday night with Harry Marmion, president of the USTA, and ex-mayor David Dinkins, who helped negotiate the land deal that doubled the space. Missing, however, was current mayor Rudolph Giuliani, pouting over a clause in the USTA contract that fines the city every time a plane from nearby LaGuarda Airport flies over the stadium, disrupting play.
Marmion pointed to the debt service of $1.2 million per month as the reason for two floors of pricy luxury boxes and the need to relocate some of the fans.
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