BEIJING — The U.S. track and field team stumbled out of the starting blocks at the Olympics, but Team USA came roaring back today.
With nothing to show for their efforts the first three days but one silver and three bronze medals, Angelo Taylor led a sweep of the 400-meter hurdles and Stephanie Brown Trafton won a surprise gold medal in the discus. Jenn Stuczynski claimed a silver medal in the pole vault.
The hurdlers made history. It was the first 400-meter hurdles sweep since the 1960 Olympics, and Taylor duplicated a feat only the great Edwin Moses previously achieved: Winning 400-meter hurdle gold medals at the Olympics eight years apart.
“The USA hasn’t really had a great showing so far, and we wanted to uplift the track team to go out there and bring home the sweep,” Taylor said.
Taylor tried to defend his 2000 title at the 2004 Athens Games but was hampered by stress fractures in both shins. Doctors told him he either needed to take an entire year off or have steel rods inserted in his legs. He decided to take the year off.
“Man, it’s an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Edwin Moses,” Taylor said. “He’s a legend, he really made the 400 hurdles popular.”
Taylor won in 47.25 seconds, a personal best. Kerron Clement took the silver medal (47.98) and Bershawn Jackson (48.06) claimed the bronze. Jackson was world champion in 2005, Clement in 2007.
“We are the best three guys in the world and we proved that today,” Clement said. “Angelo ran a (heck) of a good race today. I was hoping I could run him down, but it didn’t happen that way. I guess it wasn’t my time for the gold, but I know it will come in time.”
At the Olympic Trials June 29, the order of finish was reversed: Jackson was first, Clement second, Taylor third. That day the men were already talking about sweeping at the Olympics.
“I wanted to win so bad, I was making so many mistakes,” Jackson said. “I fought back and I won the bronze medal so I’m happy.”
Taylor was one of the men on the U.S. 2000 Olympic 1,600-meter relay team who had to give up their gold medals recently after Antonio Pettigrew admitted he had been doping at the time.
“I feel like I replaced that medal,” Taylor said.
Russia’s Yelena Isenbaeva defended her Olympic title and broke her own world record in the process, vaulting 16 feet, 6 3/4 inches. When she was winning in Athens four years ago, Stuczynski was just beginning to dabble in pole vault after finishing her basketball career at a small college in upstate New York, Roberts Wesleyan.
“In ’04 I was a 12-foot pole vaulter,” said Stuczynski, who vaulted 15-9 today. “To come to your first Olympics and get a medal, a silver medal nonetheless, is great. I couldn’t ask for any more.”
Brown Trafton competed in the Athens Olympics shortly after graduating from Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo but was overcome with nerves and didn’t qualify for finals. This time she qualified for the finals on her last throw — and then won the first track and field gold for the U.S. here.
“I told people when you make the final anything can happen,” Brown Trafton said. “I had a far throw and nobody else stepped up. I won a gold medal! I almost started to cry on the victory lap, but I didn’t. But I know I’ll cry on the medal stand.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
