TRIO OF SPORTING EVENTS DRAW TOP-NOTCH ATHLETES

Three sporting events promise plenty of muscle, speed and grace this weekend. These events will draw thousands of fans and top athletes to Cape Girardeau.

The 11th annual SEmotion Relays will attract more than 1,000 talented track and field athletes for top-flight competition. About 30 women's collegiate teams and 26 men's collegiate teams are entered, along with a number of club and individual athletes.

The fact this is an Olympic year may ignite the competition. Athletes who meet or break records at relays here may qualify for Olympic trials. Past Olympians may also compete. Connie Price-Smith, a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, is expected to compete in the shot put and discus.

The action will center at the Abe Stuber Track & Field Complex, beginning at noon today and continuing at 10 a.m. Saturday. Today's admission is free, with a $3 admission fee on Saturday.

The relays should provide spectators with a rousing warmup to this summer's Olympic competition in Barcelona, Spain.

The NPC Ozark Bodybuilding Championship should provide plenty of entertainment muscle. The show has grown so big that it will expand to the Show Me Center Saturday for the first time. More than 1,800 fans are expected to watch more than 100 men and women flex their athleticism. That's explosive growth from the 200 or so spectators the first show drew eight years ago. Prejudging begins at 9 a.m., with final competition gearing up at 7 p.m.

The quality of the show is underscored by the fact ESPN plans to send a crew in Saturday to film the show for a later broadcast. Two of the country's top pro champion bodybuilders will present a seminar that afternoon.

Doug Friese of Universal Physique deserves special recognition for his work in building this competition to a championship level.

The Ice in Cape Girardeau is ready to captivate all those Winter Olympic groupies left feeling empty after the games ended in Albertville, France. "Beach Party on Ice" will feature more than 100 skaters from the area and Olympic hopeful Colin Vander Veen from Marietta, Ga. Difficult jumps similar to the ones that awed Olympic admirers are his speciality.

Shows are scheduled at 7 p.m. today and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday.

In the next three days, Cape Girardeau will be host to top track and field athletes, championship bodybuilders and Olympic hopeful ice skaters. That's an action-packed weekend of which any community could be proud.