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Ailing Lewis hangs on for gold in Olympic heptathlon
= = SYDNEY, Sept 24 (AFP) - Britain's Denise Lewis took the Olympic heptathlon gold medal here Sunday, hanging on in the closing 800 metres to take the title ahead of Russia's Yelena Prokhorova and Natalya Sazanovich of Belarus. The Briton's pre-Olympic claim that the event would go to the wire proved true and as she fought against an Achilles tendon injury that came close to ending her participation in the event. She led after six of the seven disciplines but with the 800m not her strong point she had to hang on for a final total of 6584 points - 53 points ahead of Prokhorova, who finished on 6531. Sazanovich was four points further back. But Lewis is now confirmed as the best all-round female athlete of the Games after winning bronze in Atlanta four years ago and bagging silver at last year's World Championships in Seville, Spain. But she admitted that she nearly pulled out before the Olympics because of a troublesome Achilles tendon problem. "I injured my Achilles six weeks ago. That's what the strapping was there for," explained Lewis who emulated the feat of compatriot Mary Peters who won the 1972 Olympic title when the event was the pentathlon - that victory in Munich was the week before Lewis was born. "Then after the second round of the long jump, something happened to my foot. I couldn't even walk properly. "There was a real fear that I would have to pull out. But I told myself - 'This is the Olympic Games', and I dug deep into my soul and my character." The withdrawal through injury of France's world champion Eunice Barber and outgoing Olympic champion Ghada Shouaa of Syria had also helped her cause. "It's been a very difficult competition," Lewis said. "All the favourites had to pull out at various stages. There were lots of injuries - we knew it would be about survival of the fittest." The 800 metres is the sting in the tail of the heptathlon and is the element least liked by the majority of heptathletes, not least Lewis. It was nearly 10:00 pm at the end of two gruelling days' competition when the eight women in the top seeded heat were sent on their way. Before the starter's gun sounded, the 28-year-old Commonwealth record-holder knew that she could afford to finish about four seconds behind Sazanovich, or within eight seconds of Prokhorova, who boasts a classy 2min 04sec best time, compared to her own modest 2:12. The woman from Wolverhampton, sporting heavy bandaging on the injured Achilles tendon, ran a measured 800-metre race, not panicking as the Russian sped into an early lead on the first lap. But intense fatigue had clearly taken hold of Lewis as she laboured down the home straight, trying to keep Prokhorova in sight. After the Russian finished the race first in 2:10.32, the noisy British contingent in the stands began a countdown. They had not reached "seven" when their heroine reached the finishing line, her 2:16.83 was worth a precious 867pts. Lewis's overall win had been set up by a 50.19-metre javelin throw in the penultimate event earlier on Sunday evening. That gave Lewis the points lead for the first time in the competition, 63 points ahead of overnight leader Sazanovich. Loitering menacingly in third place on the points table, though, was Prokhorova, a talented middle distance runner, on 5571pts. Sazanovich, the 1996 Olympic silver medallist, had maintained her overnight lead after the morning's long jump - the fifth event - just ahead of Lewis. For the first time in the competition, Prokhorova moved into the medal positions, thanks to her 6.59-metre leap. The long jump saw the end for Barber who abandoned her bid for Olympic gold after making only one attempt. Although she led the heptathlon event after two events, poor showings in the shot and 200m left the out-of-form Frenchwoman needing a quality performance in her best event. Instead, she jumped just 5.93m, and after consulting the team physiotherapist, quit the competition. It left the way open for Lewis to become the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal since 400m hurdler Sally Gunnell in 1992. "I am just so happy," Lewis said. "I was always in pain, even the wait was painful, but I made it.
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