The Meal at Moscow

TRACK & FIELD

"This team is so strong it kind of frightens me," said Coach Payton Jordan. Indeed, to hear them chatter, the U.S. team that took on Russia last week was the hottest thing since sweat suits. "Each of us is the best in our field," boasted Hurdler Rex Cawley before the meet. "The Russians have two chances --slim and none," chortled High Jumper Gene Johnson. Munch, Munch. The words must have tasted bitter. After two disastrous days in Moscow, the men's team barely edged the Russians, 119-114, and the women's team lost by an embarrassing 75-28. It was the worst performance by any U.S. squad since the start of the two-nation competition in 1958.

Not Even the Minimum. In the 100-meter dash, Florida A. & M.'s Bob Hayes, the world record holder at 100 yds., won easily in 10.2 sec.--but second place went to a Russian, for the first time anybody could remember. And in event after event, the Russians chipped away at the U.S.'s strongest points-making gains with a second place in the 400-meter dash, another in the 800-meter run, and a startling victory in the 400-meter relay, when the sloppy U.S. team finished first but was disqualified for passing the baton illegally. Some of the Americans managed to live up to their clippings, but the Russians had aces to match--such as Valery Brumel, who sailed over the crossbar at 7 ft. 5 3/4 in. to break his own world record in the high jump.

Then there were the women. The Russian girls won all ten gold medals, while the U.S. could not even get the minimum 30 points guaranteed for finishing third and fourth in each event. Ohio's Sandra Knott twice fouled her start in the 800-meter run and was disqualified. The same thing happened to California's Rosie Bonds in the 80-meter hurdles. The lone U.S. hurdler left was Indiana's Jo Ann Terry; she tripped over the first hurdle, fell flat on her face--and stayed there.

Chasing the Men. After the fiasco, Russian Coach Gabriel Korobkov mildly suggested that some U.S. athletes seemed to be in need of "a good training." He undoubtedly meant a good spanking. Serenely overconfident, the U.S. men were ill-prepared for the ruggedness of the competition. The U.S. girls logged more time playing cards in the hotel lobby than they did practicing on the track, more time chasing the U.S. men than chasing the Russian women. They refused to take orders, lounged around listening to records, complained loudly about their rooms, their food and, oddly enough, about the fact that the sun rose at 4 a.m. in Moscow. When a gift pair of track shoes from the Russians turned out to be the wrong kind for her event, one U.S. girl flew into a rage. "Don't they know I'm the cham. pion?" she screamed. Said a coach: "She found out later who the champion really was."

From Moscow, the U.S. squad moved on to Warsaw for another dual meet, this time against the weaker Polish team. The U.S. men won easily, 125-83, but the girls lost again, 58-48. Unconcerned, they were blithely telling newsmen their plans for revenge next year, when the Russians come to Los Angeles. Hurdler Rosie Bonds said she would show her rivals Muscle Beach; High Jumper Billee Pat Daniels would take the Russian high jumpers to Disneyland. "That way," said Billee, "we'll walk the legs right off them."

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