OLYMPIC MONITOR

By BARRY HILLENBRAND/HENLEY, ENGLAND

USING THE POSITIVE POWER OF FEAR

British rower Steve Redgrave is a worrier. he claims fretting is essential to winning races. "If you're not worrying, you lose your mental edge," says Redgrave. "Before you know it, somebody comes from out of the woodwork to pull a half a length ahead of you." Apparently the worrying has paid off for him. Nobody has got ahead of Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent, his partner in the coxless pairs, for four years. Redgrave and Pinsent have racked up a string of more than 50 international wins in pairs, as well as four consecutive world championships and a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics.

The two men have obsessively nurtured their unbeaten record. Some rowers are content to cruise through qualifying heats with a gentlemanly second or third, enough to make the finals. But not Redgrave and Pinsent. They always row for a first. "Every race is worthy of winning," says Pinsent. "Besides, defending the streak motivates us and keeps the pressure up."

Redgrave has a second--and even more enviable--record to worry about in Atlanta. He is attempting to win a gold medal in four successive Olympics. In addition to the gold he won with Pinsent in Barcelona, Redgrave has had rowing gold medals with other partners in 1984 and '88. To win a fourth would be a rare achievement. No rower has done it, and only three other athletes in the 100-year history of the Games have managed it. "Winning a fourth gold has been the motivation for carrying on with rowing for the last four years," says Redgrave, 33. "I began working and planning for it five days after Barcelona." That's also when the worrying began. --By Barry Hillenbrand/Henley, England

BACK ON TRACK

Chinese runner and double-world-record holder Wang Junxia, 22, clocked the fastest times of the year in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m at China's Olympic trials last week. Wang, a farmer's daughter, is recovering from leg injuries and a nasty split with her former coach Ma Junren. Under a grueling training regimen, "Ma's Army" of runners broke several records in 1993 but drew charges--never proved--that some members were given performance-enhancing drugs.

GIVE THEM A HAND

Never mind that most Americans aren't familiar with this fast-paced game; the U.S. men's and women's handball teams got an All-American introduction at Planet Hollywood in Atlanta. "It's water polo without the water, or soccer but you use your hands," says handballer Thomas Fitzgerald. While the men's Olympic team is still far behind powerhouses France and Sweden, the women's, led by twins Tami and Toni Jameson, has a shot at the first U.S. medal in the sport.

FOILED IN ATLANTA

The U.S. women foil fencers went into last week's World Cup in Atlanta with the top ranking and a chance to show their competitors from Italy, Germany and Romania that Americans will be medal contenders at the Olympics. What they left with, though, was a disappointing early-round defeat. "Our team wasn't really performing as a unit," said Ann Marsh, the No. 1 American. But, she adds, "by the Olympics we'll be able to pull it all together."