Evelyn Ashford's old rival Marlies Gohr (East Germany) had retired after
the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, as had Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA),
who had defeated Evelyn in the 100m final at Seoul. Despite their
departures, Ashford continued to compete on equal terms against new and
younger opponents on the world sprinting scene. She raced sparingly in
1989, although only three women recorded faster times over 100m than her
season's best of 11.05sec. The following year Evelyn slipped to 7th on
the yearly list, and finished third at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich,
which brought together all of the world's top sprinters.
In 1991, the
major meet of the year was the World Championships in Tokyo. Ashford
had an unlucky history in this competition, tearing her right hamstring
and failing to finish in 1983, and missing the 1987 edition due to
injury. At Tokyo, Ashford finished 5th in the 100m final, but her run
of bad luck at World Championships continued to dog her in the 4 x 100m
relay. As three members of their team had made the individual 100m
final, it was expected that the USA would win a medal in the relay, but
they were eliminated in the heats with a dropped baton, ruining Evelyn's
final chance to win a World Championships medal.
Ashford's last major
championships was the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, 16 years after
her first Olympic appearance in Montreal. Evelyn comfortably won her
quarter-final of the 100m, but was eliminated in the semi-finals when
she finished fifth, only 0.01sec behind the fourth-placed qualifier.
However, her Olympic story had a happy ending, when the 35 year-old
Ashford ran the opening leg on the victorious USA 4 x 100m relay team,
earning Evelyn her third consecutive Olympic relay gold medal. (Ron
Casey)
|
Women's 4x100m. relay Final.
Olympic Games 1992.
1. United States (
E. ASHFORD, E. Jones, C. Guidry, G. Torrence)
42.11
2. CIS (O.Bogoslovskaya, G.Malchugina, M.Trandenkova, I.Privalova) 42.16
3. Nigeria (B. Utondu, F. Idehen, O. Thompson, M. Onyali) 42.81
4. France 42.85
5. Germany 43.12
6. Australia 43.77
Jamaica DNF
Cuba DNF
ANNUAL PROGRESS:
100m.
1976 11.21 Olympic Stadium, Montréal (CAN) 25 JUL 1976
1977 11.25 Gelsenkirchen (FRG) 25 JUN 1977
1978 11.26 Helsinki (FIN) 29 JUN 1978
1979 10.97 Walnut, CA (USA) 16 JUN 1979
1981 10.90 Colorado Springs, CO (USA) 22 JUL 1981
1982 10.93 Westwood, CA (USA) 07 AUG 1982
1983 10.79 Colorado Springs, CO (USA) 03 JUL 1983
1984 10.76 Zürich (SUI) 22 AUG 1984 (personal best)
1986 10.88 Rieti (ITA) 07 SEP 1986
1987 11.28 Westwood, CA (USA) 07 JUN 1987
1988 10.81 Indianapolis, IN (USA) 17 JUL 1988
1989 11.05 Sapporo (JPN) 26 AUG 1989
1990 11.07 Rieti (ITA) 09 SEP 1990
1991 11.08 Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) 27 AUG 1991
1992 11.07 Jena (GER) 28 MAY 1992
Outdoor
200m.
1977 22.62 Westwood, CA (USA) 10 JUN 1977
1978 22.66 Westwood, CA (USA) 10 JUN 1978
1979 21.83 Montréal (CAN) 24 AUG 1979 (personal best)
1981 21.84 Bruxelles (BEL) 28 AUG 1981
1982 22.10 Nice (FRA) 14 AUG 1982
1983 21.88 Indianapolis, IN (USA) 19 JUN 1983
1986 21.97 Letzigrund, Zürich (SUI) 13 AUG 1986
1987 22.55 San José (USA) 25 JUN 1987
1992 22.65 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne (SUI) 08 JUL 1992
Personal best times.
100 Metres 10.76 +1.7 Zürich (SUI) 22 AUG 1984
200 Metres 21.83 -0.2 Olympic Stadium, Montréal (CAN) 24 AUG 1979
400 Metres 51.57 Philadelphia, PA (USA) 30 JUN 1979
4x100m Relay 41.61 Colorado Springs, CO (USA) 03 JUL 1983