Dominican world champion hurdler F?lix S?nchez stands a
good chance of retaining his world title in Friday?s 400-meter hurdles finals at
the international athletics championships in Paris. S?nchez came first in the
semi-finals yesterday, with a time of 48.16 seconds. ?Everyone wants to beat me,
but I want to beat everyone,? said the world champion, fresh from his triumph at
the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. He has not lost a single race since
winning the Monaco Grand Prix in July 2001. S?nchez promised to dedicate his
victory to the Dominican people as a tribute to their support.
Pan Am officials demand payment
Hoy reports that dozens of referees, judges and other officials who worked at
the Pan American Games have yet to be paid. The affected parties held a
demonstration outside the organizing committee?s offices yesterday, prompting a
declaration from the director general Bienvenido Solano that the payments would
be made next week. The protestors claimed that they had been given similar
assurances in the past and had traveled to the capital to be paid but were just
met with excuses.
Depending on the role they played, the officials are due about US$200 each. One
of the people affected was a cleaner named Milagros Mercedes, who mopped the
surface of the volleyball training court for nine days, working from 7am to late
at night. ?I had to pay someone to look after my two young children so I could
go out to work, now they are sick and no one is here to pay me,? she said.
The protestors fear that the organizing committee?s offices will be closed down
this Friday, according to rumors in circulation.