Mark Lewis-Francis was despondent. The 18-year-old British phenom had just lost his 100-meter semifinal here in Edmonton, finishing fifth in a heat that included Ato Boldon, Donovan Bailey and Maurice Greene. And now that .09 seconds would keep him out of the finals, the weight of the disastrous equipment failure the day before came crashing down on him. (During Saturday's quarterfinals, the rookie had won his heat with a time of 9.97 seconds, destroying the world juniors record by .06. But a faulty wind gauge had registered illegal -- and totally nonexistent -- tailwinds, and the teen was robbed of his record.)

So now, slumped in his chair inside the white changing tent, Lewis-Francis cradled his head in his hands, shaking with each quiet sob. From the other side of the fence, reporters stared, but stayed remarkably silent, leaving the sprinter alone with his sorrow.

Bailey was still in the stadium milking his farewell, but the other vets took turns comforting the rookie. Greene -- who would later win the finals despite tweaking his left quad and hammy -- sauntered over to squeeze Lewis-Francis' shoulder. Greene had been the first to congratulate the kid when he broke the juniors mark; he'd be the first to console him.

Obadele Thompson of Barbados sat next to Lewis-Francis, saying quietly, "Lotta ups and downs in this sport."

Christian Malcolm, another Brit who qualified for the final, bowed his Sisqo-blond head and huddled close to his young teammate. "Things happen for a reason," he said in Mark's ear. "You'll get hungrier. And next year, when you're breaking records at the Commonwealth Games, you won't even remember this."

Bernard Williams, a member of the hated U.S. Olympic 4x100 relay team that strutted and preened in Sydney, also patted Mark on the back while whispering some encouraging words.

Even Emmanuel Hudson, the Big Daddy of HSI, the training team with Boldon and Greene in its fold, shouted over the fence: "Hey Mark! You did good! You did good! Don't hang your head -- you did well!"

So much for selfish sprinters and boorish Americans.

E-mail Anne Marie Cruz at anne.marie.cruz@espnmag.com.