Beijing Olympics: The faces change in the final 50 meters of track finals

Posted: 2:54 PM- BEIJING - Over the final 50 meters of the National Stadium track Tuesday, it no longer was about the races.
    It was about the faces.
    There was the bewildered look of Sanya Richards as her body failed her once again, this time in the most important 10 seconds of her life.
    There was the horrified expression of hurdler Lolo Jones, whose contact with the ninth of 10 hurdles sent her from sure gold to pure anguish.
    And then there was Usain Bolt's relaxed mug, which was turned left and facing Shawn Crawford down the stretch, as if to ask the American "Why are you working so hard?"
    Indeed, there were plenty of dramatic moments contained to such a short stretch of track Tuesday. The level of pain and pleasure was easy to recognize.
    "It's just so discouraging," Richards said after finishing third in the 400-meter race she has dominated all year. "It's almost like - I don't know. I don't want to say. It's just really hard."
    Richards, a former St. Thomas Aquin as star, was leading the race throughout, doing most of her damage in the two turns. But at the start of the final straightaway, Richards lost control of the race. She was quickly caught and passed by Britain's Christine Ohuruogu, who won gold in 49.62, and Jamaica's Shericka Williams, who took silver. All the while, Richards, who held on for bronze in 49.93, looked stunned.
    "At the 320 mark, my right hamstring grabbed me and I just couldn't move it anymore," Richards said. "I've never had anything like that happen. I was totally out of control on the straightaway. I was all over the lane, and Christine Ohuruogu was just really strong coming home."
    Richards suffers from Behcet's Syndrome, a rare disease resulting from inflammation of the blood vessels, which causes pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints, but has the condition under control after a tumultuous 2007 season. This hamstring flare-up was unrelated and entirely unexpected.
    "I don't want to tell you what I'm thinking right now because it's not positive," she said while fighting tears. "I feel so betrayed by my body once again and it's such a tough break for me."
    Jones didn't have her hamstring to blame, just a high hurdle that felt taller than any she's ever leapt.
    She had a healthy lead in the 100-meter hurdles when the bottom of her right, lead foot hit square on the face of the hurdle. Jones, who won the U.S. trials and ran the third-fastest time in Olympic history in the semifinal, finished seventh after her stumble, falling to the ground immediately in tears.
    Fellow American Dawn Harper won gold in 12.54 seconds, as shocked in victory as Jones was in disastrous defeat.
    "I crossed the line and it was very hard for me to pick myself back up," Jones said, tears pouring down and her voice breaking. "It took about 30 seconds. Today's hard. Tomorrow's going to be harder. But what can you do but try again?"
    Bolt plans to make a mockery of his competition again on Wednesday, a day after easing through a 20.09 semifinal in the 200 meters. Defending Olympic champion Shawn Crawford held the lead through most of the race, but in the straightway, the lanky Bolt appeared to be jogging as he caught up to and coasted alongside Crawford.
    Bolt, who eased to a world-record 9.69 in the 100 final Saturday, looked over at Crawford while passing him. Churandy Martina of Netherlands-Antilles had the second-fastest time at 20.11. Crawford's 20.12 was the third-fastest semifinal time, while Wallace Spearmon qualified fourth in 20.14 and Florida State product Walter Dix was sixth best in 20.19.
    While addressing the media, Bolt continued his playful manner, spilling some blue Powerade on a surprised Spearmon's back.
    Think Bolt is taking a casual approach to these Games?
    "Would you be?" Spearmon said. "If I ran 9.6 shutting it down, I wouldn't be nervous at all either."
    Also Tuesday, Americans LeShawn Merritt (44.12) and Jeremy Wariner (44.15) were 1-2 in qualifying for the 200 final.
    American David Oliver led the way in 110 hurdles qualifying in 13.16 seconds, and the top U.S. woman in the 200, Allyson Felix, had the fourth-best time (22.74) in qualifying for the semifinals. Silver medalist in the 100, Sherone Simpson, led qualifiers with a 22.60.