U.S. Runners Advance in 200 Meters

ATHENS, Greece – Shawn Crawford (search) was all business Tuesday morning, speeding to victory in 20.55 seconds in his first-round heat of the 200 — a sharp contrast to his antics in the early rounds of the 100.

Crawford, who finished fourth in the 100 after dominating the early rounds, was joined in the second round by U.S. teammates Bernard Williams and Justin Gatlin, the 100-meter gold medalist.

"I can't talk," Crawford said as he walked past reporters after the race. "I'm not a morning person."

The fastest times of the opening round were 20.29 by Williams and Stephane Buckland of Mauritius. Also advancing were 100 silver medalist Francis Obikwelu of Portugal and two-time silver medalist Frank Fredericks of Namibia.

Usain Bolt, the 17-year-old Jamaican who had the No. 2 time in the world this year, failed to make it through the qualifying round.

Absent was defending champion Kostas Kenteris (search) — who withdrew from the Athens Games after missing a drug test. His attempt to win 200 gold in his homeland had been expected to be one of the highlights of the games for Greek fans.

Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan extended his lead in the decathlon. He had the best time of 13.97 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to push his total to 5,667 points after six of the 10 events. World record holder Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic was second with 5,562, followed by Americans Bryan Clay (5,512) and Tom Pappas (5,366).

Also Tuesday, all three Americans advanced to the second round of the 110-meter hurdles, but not as easily as expected. Four-time world champion Allen Johnson was third in his first-round heat in 13.45; Duane Ross was second in his heat in 13.39, and Terrence Trammell qualified despite finishing fifth in his heat in 13.51.

The fastest time of the round was run by Ladji Doucoure, who set a French record with 13.18. Also advancing to Wednesday's second round was Liu Xiang of China, a bronze medalist at last year's world championships.