INDIANAPOLIS -- Ken Lowery established an indoor world best in the 500-meter run, and Carl Lewis made a triumphant return from knee surgery with a victory in the 60-meter dash Friday night at the Hoosier Dome Invitational track meet.
Lowery, 25, a Chicago State Track Club runner, had a time of 1:00.17, breaking the previous indoor world best of 1:00.86 set by American Clarence Daniel in 1986.
But his run was not officially a world record because the 500-meters is not among the events eligible for world records this year under a ruling by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.
A strong finishing kick enabled Lowery to edge Michael Parks, who was second in 1:00.45.
'I was two meters behind Michael going into the last turn,' Lowery said. 'I made my kick because I knew if I would have waited, I wouldn't have been able to catch him.'
Lowery's effort was one of three American standards set in the meet. Other new marks came in the men's 5,000-meter walk and the women's 3,000-meter walk.
Paul Wick, 24, of Elkhorn, Wis., walked the 5,000 meters in 20:29.67 to break Jim Heiring's 8-year-old indoor mark of 20:53.9. Mary Ann Torrellas, 28, of Clinton, Conn., walked 3,000 meters in 13:29.82, breaking runner-up Teresa Vaill's 1985 indoor mark of 13:59.56.
Lewis won the 60 meters with a time of 6.68 in the final, edging Albert Robinson by .01. The event was the first competition for Lewis since he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last September.
The 25-year-old Lewis, who won Olympic gold in the long jump, the 100 and 200 meters and as the anchor runner for the U.S. 400-meter relay team, said he chose Indianapolis for his return because of the new track and the spaciousness of the stadium compared to many indoor track meet sites.
'The main reason I'm here is just to get a meet in,' Lewis said. 'This place is open. You don't have that 'indoor meet' feeling here.'
Lewis was timed by stopwatch at 6.4 seconds in the semifinals of the 60 meters. The run did not break Houston McTear's nine-year-old American record of 6.54 seconds because it was not automatically timed.
'The knee is a little sore,' Lewis said. 'I think it is because it is my lead leg in the blocks.'
Lewis, who would not guarantee his participation in any future meet, said he is making his recovery slowly.
'I'm taking it at a reduced pace because I know many people who have had surgery,' he said. 'I can overcome that and learn from the experience. I'm just trying to get back. I know I can be better than I was in the past.'
The meet was the first ever held on the stadium's new $300,000 Italian-made track. The 200-meter banked oval is to be used in March for the inaugural World Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Hoosier Dome.
'It's a fantastic track,' Wick said. 'The banking makes it especially great. I had no idea I was going that fast, especially this early in the season. I was injured all of last year, so it was a nice way to come back.'
Torrellas also was surprised with her time and the quality of the track.
'It doesn't feel like an indoor track,' she said. 'No bounce.'
Added Lewis: 'The track feels good. It's very fast. It doesn't feel cramped like some indoor tracks.'
Carol Lewis, Carl's 23-year-old sister, won the long jump. Her best effort was a leap of 21 feet, 8 3/4 inches in qualifying.
In other races, Kirk Baptiste, ranked second in the world outdoors in the 200 meters, won the event indoors in a time of 21.18 seconds. He edged Robinson by .04. Baptiste won a silver medal in the 200 at the 1984 Olympics.
Also, David Volz won the pole vault with a best effort of 17 feet, 3 inches, while Terry Brahm took the 3,000 meters in 7:59.52. Both were former Indiana University standouts.
