WORLD TRACK NOTES : Ailing Decathlete O’Brien Hanging On

Through the first five events in the decathlon Thursday in track and field’s World Championships at Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, defending champion Dan O’Brien had a hardly commanding four-point lead over Germany’s Paul Meier.

If he is sound and healthy, O’Brien should put more distance between himself and the field today because he usually scores better in the final five events. But that is no small if.

“The guy’s a walking medical case,” decathlon expert Frank Zarnowski said of O’Brien, who is suffering from groin and heel injuries and also has not completely recovered from a prostate infection that hindered him during the U.S. championships earlier this summer.

O’Brien, however, is in better shape than some rivals who were supposed to challenge him here.

Canada’s Mike Smith, runner-up to O’Brien in the World Championships two years ago, fouled on his first two long jumps, then ran through the pit on the third attempt, failing to score any points in the event and dropping out.

The Czech Republic’s Robert Zmelik, the 1992 Olympic champion, withdrew after the fourth event, the high jump, because of an ankle injury.

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Marc Davis of San Diego tumbled in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase after another runner bumped him while they were going over a hurdle.

He leaped to his feet, resumed the race and finished fifth. That was remarkable, but not good enough to qualify for the final.

Fortunately for Davis, the U.S. coaches did complain. After they had protested, the jury of appeals made room for Davis in the final.

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It was not a good day for meet officials. The world record-holder in the women’s high jump, Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova, left the stadium believing that she had not qualified for Saturday’s final. But officials had placed her among the qualifiers.

It turned out that Kostadinova knew the rules better than they did. Later, the officials reviewed their decision and dropped her out.

The reigning Olympic and world champion in the event, Germany’s Heike Henkel, barely qualified, then announced that she would not compete in the final because of an injured Achilles’ tendon.