July 28, 1996

Ato Boldon of Trinidad "absolutely, 100 percent" guaranteed a world record in the Olympic 100 meters tonight, and he was right. But he wasn't the one who set the record in a race that produced a startling result and a humid dispute. With a searing finish, the world champion Donovan Bailey of Canada ignored three false starts by the field and swept past his competitors in 9.84 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 9.85 seconds set two years ago by Leroy Burrell of the United States.

A pipe bomb spiked with nails and screws shattered the Summer Olympic Games today, transforming an international celebration of sport and fellowship into a symbol of the dark side of modern life. The homemade pipe bomb or bombs exploded at 1:25 A.M. in a crowded corner of Centennial Olympic Park, killing Alice S. Hawthorne, 44, of Albany, Ga., and wounding at least 111 people. A Turkish television cameraman died of a heart attack while running to cover the blast.

His hands in restless motion, Bill Clinton sat in the Oval Office earlier this month assessing the Presidency he calls "this great adventure." At times pensive, other times fiery, his finger stabbing the air as he disputed a point, he confidently made his case for a second term. "As Americans, what we have done in the last four years is put our economic house in order, restore growth and create opportunity," Mr. Clinton said. "We have succeeded in reducing the deficit, expanding trade, targeting investment in critical areas, and we have over 10 million new jobs."

Unlike the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, where 11 Israeli athletes and officials were killed by Palestinian gunmen, international Olympic officials decided today that the centennial Games should continue without delay despite the explosion of a pipe bomb early this morning that killed 1 person and injured 111 more. Olympic flags were lowered to half-staff, and a moment of silence was observed in a light rain this morning at a somber Olympic Stadium, where track and field resumed with its second day of competition. Security was noticeably tighter at many Olympic venues, and fans, journalists and even elite athletes had to submit to scanning devices upon entering them. Spectators arriving for the evening track and field session found lines at least two blocks long as people waited to get through the metal detectors.

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