Savanté's story without happy end

JOEY VAUGHAN
DM Sports Editor

The long, strange Olympic saga is over for Savanté Stringfellow, and the ending was anything but fairy-tale.

Stringfellow, Ole Miss' senior long jump star, failed to qualify for the finals in Sydney yesterday after months of anticipation and preparation.

"Just call me extremely disappointed right now," Stringfellow said, in what might be the understatement of the year.

Think about it. Stringfellow wins the 2000 NCAA indoor and outdoor championships and is extremely confident going into the U.S. Trials, where he finishes a disappointing fifth. Just as he is beginning to deal with his failure to qualify, the third- and fourth-place finishers back out, allowing Stringfellow to sneak through the Olympic back door.

At that point, it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch to feel like maybe Stringfellow was somehow meant to be in Sydney. So he gets there, jumps well and is again confident of his chances. He wins the warmup meet in Australia. He's healthy and peaking. A controversy about comments made by an Australian about the "dark athletes" gives Stringfellow further motivation.

Then along comes qualifying Sunday night (our time), and again, just like the U.S. Trials, Stringfellow jumps considerably shorter than he's used to. This time, though, there is no 11th hour reprieve. Nobody's going to pull out this time and let Savante' jump in the medal round.

How devastating this must be to an athlete who knows he can do better, but consistently comes up short when the Olympics are concerned.

It's not the end of the world for Stringfellow, though. Sure, he lost in the biggest meet of his life. The sun will rise tomorrow, though. He's still got his senior year ahead of him, and a chance to repeat as NCAA champion.

His long jumping prime hasn't passed him by, either. Most of Stringfellow's competitors in Sydney were older than him. Carl Lewis was older than the hills when he won his last gold in Atlanta.

There will be another day for Savanté Stringfellow. If he sticks with it, hard work and determination could transform frustration in 2000 to a medal in 2004.