More Olympic Heartbreak for Spearmon

North Texas sprinter finishes fourth as Jamaica sweeps 200-meter

Wallace Spearmon's hopes of Olympic redemption after a lane violation cost him a medal in Beijing were dashed by three faster Jamaican runners -- including winner Usain Bolt.

Spearmon, who trains at the University of Texas at Arlington, finished fourth in the 200-meter with a time of 19.90.


"I'm going to go home and work harder," he said. "I'm sorry I let you down. You have good days, you have bad days, and you have those days. It wasn't the best day, and it wasn't the worst. It just wasn't my day."

Bolt led a Jamaican sweep, with his training partner and pal Yohan Blake getting the silver in 19.44, and Warren Weir taking the bronze in 19.84.

"He ran a great race. The guy is just on another planet right now," Spearmon said between sobs of disappointment.

In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Spearmon finished third -- only to find out moments later that he was disqualified for a lane violation.

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The athletes Spearmon trains with at UTA said they are inspired by his hard work.

“He's a great inspiration for people like me who haven't run as fast as him yet, but who want to be as fast as him. Just having him around, you're going to run faster automatically,” said Tyrone Edgar, a professional track and field athlete who trains with Spearmon and hopes to qualify for 2016 Olympic Games.

“He says, ‘If you put the work in, you can make it, and you can do it just like I have,'" said Keondra Mallard, a member of UTA's track and field team. "Every time I'm out here, I think of the things he's said to me, and it motivates me to be a better runner."

NBC 5's Mola Lenghi contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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