For most of us, one one-hundredth of a second is an inconsequential unit of time -- a mere snap of the finger.
For recent graduate Sam Burley, one one-hundredth of a second was the difference between harrowing failure and prodigious triumph this June 14.
With 200 meters left in the 800m finals at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif., Burley was in an all too familiar position -- second place at nationals. At the 150 meter mark, Burley summoned what remained in his debilitated energy reserve, galloping past Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech, who had been leading for virtually the entire race.
But Burley's lead proved transient. Johnson, striking back, blazed past Burley, as the epic duel for first place continued down the stretch. Johnson held off Burley for virtually the entire final straightaway, but the Penn graduate was not to be denied.
In a gutsy move that is sure to linger in the Texas Tech star's mind for years to come, Burley, perhaps spurred on by the memory of last year's .22 second loss to South Carolina's Outille Lekote, seized first place yet again with just five meters remaining. As the two approached the finish line, Johnson leaned across the finish line, but to no avail. Sam Burley had won.
After a seventh place finish sophomore year and a second place finish last year, Burley, in his last season at Penn, was finally crowned the national champion in the 800m.
"When I won, I was more relieved than happy," the new national champion told The Daily Pennsylvanian in June. "It was my last chance to achieve my college goal. I finally did it. It was a nice way to end my college career."
With the victory, Burley joined Earl Eby as the second Ivy League and Penn male to win the two lap race at the NCAAs. Eby did it in 1921 in 1:57.4.
For the other Penn athlete competing that weekend, the competition was not nearly as stiff. On June 13, the ever-consistent Brian Chaput, true to his usual form, heaved the javelin 248'6" in the preliminary round on Wednesday, besting his personal and the Penn and Ivy League Records by more than six feet.
That was merely the beginning.
In the championship round, Chaput launched the javelin an astounding 258'2" -- his personal best by nearly ten feet. The throw set a new Penn and Ivy League record.
Chaput's throw defeated second place finisher Rob Minnitti of Boise State by nearly 12 feet.
With the victory, Chaput became the first Penn athlete ever to win a national championship in the javelin and just the fifth Penn track athlete to win a National Championship. Burley's victory the next day marked the sixth.
Penn had not won a gold medal since Bruce Collins took first place in the 400 yard hurdles in 1974, and the Quakers had never before had two athletes earn first-place finishes in the same year. As a team, the Quakers tied for eleventh in the country.
After conquering the collegiate circuit in their respective events, Burley and Chaput focused their energies on even loftier goals.
The duo traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., the following weekend to compete in the prestigious USA Track and Field Championships -- marking the beginning of Burley's hopeful professional career and the end of Chaput's memorable junior season.
Donning the colors of his new sponsor, Asics, for the first time and hampered by a sprained ankle he suffered in the semifinals, Burley stumbled to a disheartening sixth-place finish of 1:47.59.
Chaput, who competed "unattached," experienced a similar letdown. Also finishing sixth on the weekend with an average throw of 239'2", Chaput was not in usual form, missing his personal best by nearly 18 feet.
With July approaching, Chaput and Burley, having catapulted the Penn men's track and field program to towering heights, finally parted ways.
Today, Burley will vault onto the world track scene, when he competes in heat five of the World Track and Field Championships in Paris. The Penn record holder is scheduled to take off from lane seven at 8:35 p.m., Paris time.
While Burley enters a new stage in his young career on the professional circuit, Chaput, despite invitations to several American-held meets, decided it was time for a rest.
"It was a long season," Chaput said. "And with a longer, more important one ahead, it made sense to wrap up the season and take a month off before beginning to fix technical flaws and better prepare myself for the Olympic Trials in 2004."
The mantle of leadership now lies on Chaput's broad shoulders. And he appears poised to strive for unfulfilled team and personal goals, including winning a Heptagonal Championship and fixing the "technical flaws" in his javelin throw.
Chaput will devote most of his efforts to reaching a peak performance at the Olympic Trials next July in Sacramento, Calif., where he hopes to contend for a spot on team USA. If he can improve on his already monstrous exploits, more records will face annihilation.
The team, Chaput hopes, will follow suit.
