Keeping Track For background on the athletes and instant results from Edmonton, these web sites are the way to go

The story had a Hollywood quality. A Moroccan distance runner
immigrates to America, toils as a waiter and a busboy, gains U.S.
citizenship and wins Olympic gold for his adopted nation.
Unfortunately, Khalid Khannouchi (below), the world's premier
marathoner, spoiled the scenario by choosing to run in the London
Marathon in April 2000 for a hefty appearance fee instead of
entering the U.S. Olympic Trials. Thus Khannouchi eliminated the
possibility of his representing the U.S. in Sydney. This week,
however, the world-record holder (2:05.42) will compete in his
first international event as a member of Team USA at the world
championships in Edmonton. To keep tabs on Khannouchi and the
3,000 other competitors, the Web is your best option.

The command center is iaaf.org, home site of the International
Amateur Athletic Federation, which, beginning on Saturday and
continuing throughout the 10-day competition, will have real-time
results updated seconds after the completion of every heat, along
with summaries updated every 20 minutes and transcripts of
interviews. For full recaps, trackwire.com, a grassroots website
run by a group of devoted volunteers, will have two reporters and
two photographers on hand. Pre-event background can be gleaned at
trackandfieldnews.com, official website of Track and Field News
magazine (the self-proclaimed "bible of the sport since 1948").
This site posts comprehensive records, listing the best times
this year and historically in every event. Finally, if you're
interested in how U.S. athletes got to Edmonton, check out the
rich collection of bios available at usatf.org. For those who
don't want to wait for the movie, Khannouchi's story is among
them.

--John O'Keefe

COLOR PHOTO: MICHAEL S. GREEN/AP