Sam Carchidi: This finish-line tumble was the agony of defeat

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, April, 2008 | by Sam Carchidi Inquirer Columnist

For Baby Boomers familiar with ABC television's  Wide World of Sports , the friendly-yet-serious voice of Jim McKay is forever ingrained. "The thrill of victory," he said, and the music turned dramatic and the footage showed a poor ski-jumper tumbling and somersaulting down a hill, "and the agony of defeat." McKay's famous line has become so overused, but I couldn't get it out of my mind as Overbrook High senior Tajay Gibson resembled that unfortunate skier at the end of the Philadelphia Public League's 4x400 race during yesterday's 114th edition of the Penn Relays.

With 20 yards to go and nearly 50,000 fans watching at overcast Franklin Field, Gibson appeared to be in command as he glanced over his shoulder to check his advantage over second-place Jeff Collier of...