1.
SV Start of men's 400 metres hurdles
0.08

2.
GV PAN Race develops into virtual match between the coloured American Bart Williams and the Soviet Union's Vasily Arkhipenko until Williams pulls muscle to give Arkhipenko easy victory.
0.56

3.
SV Arkhipenko at end of race
0.58

4.
GV Williams limping off track
1.02

5.
SV Athletes congratulating Arkhipenko as newsmen take pictures
1.12

6.
SV Start of Women's 100 metres
1.15

7.
GV TRACKING SHOT Lyudmila Kondratyeva drawing away from field to win event
1.36



Initials dn


SPORT: ATHLETICS
TELERECORDING

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Soviet sports officials are reported to have mixed feelings about their athletes' domination of the opening days of the Spartakiad games in Moscow. Despite invitations sent to many of the world's top sporting countries, comparatively few international stars have taken the chance to test the conditions and facilities in the city which will host the next Olympic games in 1980. On the third day (23 July) of the athletics programme, Soviet runners made a clean sweep of the gold medals and took most of the silver and bronze.

SYNOPSIS: The Olympic four hundred metres hurdles champion and world record holder, Edwin Moses, was a late withdrawal from the Moscow event, but fellow countryman, Bart Williams, running in lane two, won through to the final.

Soon the race developed into a contest between the black American and the man on his immediate outside, Vasily Arkhipenko from the Ukraine. The two matched strides down the back straight, and as the stagger unwound round the final bend it looked possible that the American was about to break the Soviet domination. But three hurdles from home, Williams dropped ??? with a pulled thigh muscle, ??? to coast home from ??? Dmitri Stukalov and Vallery Mashkovsky.

Arkhipenko's time of 49-point-11 seconds could have been a lot faster had the American been pushing him. But the winner is already among the world's best at this distance and has a great chance of a medal in 1980.

The Soviet Union's European two hundred metres champion, Lyudmila Kondratyeva, is another with definite medal prospects. She had a convincing victory in the final of the women's hundred metres, starting well and drawing away from America's Caren Hockins and the Soviet Union's Madezhda Anisimova to win in 11-point-19 seconds.