Aug. 24, 2004

George Mason rising senior Richard Phillips wasn't overwhelmed on Tuesday at his first Olympic Games. The 110-meter hurdler had little trouble advancing out of the first round heat, earning a spot in Wednesday's quarterfinals, along with Jamaican countryman and Patriot alum Maurice Wignall. Phillips and Wignall ran in the sixth and final opening round heat on Tuesday morning and Wignall finished first with Phillips second as both automatically advanced to the next round. Wignall's time was 13.30, fifth-best in the opening rounds. Phillips set a personal best time of 13.39, which tied him with three others for seventh-fastest. The top four in each round advanced along with the next eight fastest. Phillips, 21, is the third-youngest competitor to advance to the quarterfinals. He will race on Wednesday in Heat 2, which is shaping up as a very competitive heat. Cuba's Anier Garcia, the defending Olympic champion, ran the second-fastest time in the first round and Latvia's Stanislavs Olijars had the fifth-fastest time. Both are in Phillips' heat. Also in his heat is American Allen Johnson, the Olympic record holder who did not finish in the top four in his heat but was one of the next eight fastest. Johnson, a native of Washington D.C., won the gold medal in 1996 and the World Championships in 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2003. Wignall has a somewhat easier heat. He runs in Heat 4 and he has the top time in the heat from the opening rounds. The top three finishers in each heat and the next four fastest advance to the semifinals. Phillips' heat is scheduled to be run at 3:22 p.m. EDT on Wednesday with Wignall's heat scheduled for 3:36 p.m. The semifinals are on Thursday and the finals are on Friday.