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|  ATF Newswire: Norwich Union London Grand Prix By Larry Eder
atf newswire, volumne 9, number 35 Greetings from Croydon! We are here to give you, our readers, our
impressions of the Norwich London GP, which many believe to be the
best meet in the summer circuit. One of those believers is Meet Director
Ian Stewart. The first impression of the stadium, one of the most storied in our sport,
is of organization and precision. Great signage around the track on the
outside, with a lot of color, and well placed, but no obtrusive signage on
the infield. UK athletics signage is near the track gutters and about one
foot tall. The long jump Omega updater is in center of the field, which
updates the fans on the long jump progress. Same type of signage for
the Pole Vault, which is on the opposite side of track, large enough --
three feet high, for all to see and it circles 360 degrees. The Norwich Union London GP is the largest outdoor meeting in UK,
with 15,000 tickets sold--tickets were being hawked for 65 pounds,
about $120 and one was on eBay for 150 pounds. Produced by Fast
Track Events, the event sponsors are Norwich Union, Intersport,
Vonage, Omega, Mayor of London. Televised live in 147 countries, FT has three groups managing
broadcasts, one for BBC, one for a one hour delayed broadcast on
Eurosport, and other for broadcast inside the stadium--which is
produced quite well. The meet has become more than a track meet-
something to be seen at, a place where business promotions are held,
track has gone mainstream in the UK. In being in London the two days before the event, I was able to read the
papers and columnists like former Olympic medalist Steve Cram, who is
now a superb TV commentator, writes a very good column for the
Guardian, which discussed the meet and some of the top athletes in the
meeting. Nothing is left to chance... The fans here are sports fans, track fans at best, but not, track and field
fans. They want to be seen here, they entertain here and they are
knowledgable about the sport because British papers cover the worlds
third greatest sport. The announcing... well done...Mark Richardson, 400 meter medalist,
very enthusiastically, announced the field for the womens pole vault,
which were all shown on the screen at end of the field..to the applause
of the fans. the moderatevoice of Peter Matthews does the updates on
all events. Richardson does interviews, but this is his first London.
Stewart, the meet director did mention to him that death by unnatural
means could happen if the announcing was not done properly. Both
Matthews and Richardson add alot to the presentation of the meet--they
keep the crowd informed, not just filling up space, but splits, quick
interviews, and both are well received. The junior 3ks, which were a two mile in the olden days of one Ian
Stewart, Meet Director here were added to the program. "I think it is
important that the young runners get a chance to run with a big crowd!"
The Junior boy ran 8:16.26 and the top girl ran
9:16. The devil is in the details, and this meet is run down to the second.
Several observers from the IAAF were noted to be checking the
precision of the events, and how they corresponded to the schedule--
and the meet was right on time the entire night! But what do you expect? With Live TV, Fast Track Events, the group that
Alan Pascoe, John Ridgeon and Ian Stewart run, put on many major
sporting events, but due to the status they have in the track world, it is
their track and field events that go from good to excellent. Fast Track saved UK athletics, the governng body of the sport over here.
As the money developing arm of UK athletics, Alan and his team find
money where no one else could and their support of UK athletics
provides millions in benefits for athlete development. Men's 800 meters Jebrah Harris, the young man who surprised at ATT Outdoor in the US
with his big third, took the lead in front of the standing room only crowd
in 51.57 for 400 meters. Richard Hill went by him at 500 meters, but
could not build on the lead. Harris stayed tough, but Richard Hill of the
U.K. kept the lead, winning in 1:46:34 to 1:46.56. In third
was Jimmy Wattkins of the UK in 1:46.99. "It was very dry out there today, but that was an awesome run. Possibly
the best tactical race I have run. I have been sick of British runners
sitting in behind me and then running fast times, so today I changed my
tactics. I have been told it was a winner takes all today so I should now
be off to the European Championships." Women's 400 m Intermediate hurdles Totally bizarre race. Dominique Darden ran her personal best and just
drove through the finish, winning in 54.88 over the 55.26 of Tasha
Danvers-Smith of the UK, who took second. In third was Lisa
McConnell, also of the UK in 55.43. Darden's move and improvement
was perfectly timed to take the first place away from three top Britons. Men's 400 meter hurdles Kerron Clement is the only person right now who can really challenge
Jeremy Wariner, and that is because, like Wariner, Clement has
tremendous talent and works hard on the 400 meters. The problem for
Kerron is that he can not hurdle with both legs and in this theatre of the
absurd, Clement came up to hurdle nine, with Carter and Thompson in
the lead, hopped over the darn hurdle and sprinted the last forty meters,
taking the win in 48.63. James Carter was second in 48.79 and Kemel
Thompson was third in 48.83. Men's 200 meters, Tyson Gay got his Mojo... Tyson Gay has had a strange season. In Laussane, Gay was leading
and Carter dugs down deep, and presto, Carter ran the second fastest
two hundred of all time, in 19.63, with Tyson getting second in 19.70. Tonight was different. Tyson Gay came off the turn in the lead, a huge
lead, a lead so long and wide, you could drive my SUV through it! Xavier
Carter was not giving up, he even tried to catch Gay, but it was not to be.
Gay ran 19.84, a new area and meet record! Wallace Spearmon ran
20.11 for third! Men's 1,500 meters Imagine a 1,500 with no rabbits, I wonder if you can... Nick McCormick hit the 400 meters in 58.47, the 800 meters in 1:57.95
and the 1200 meters in 2:59.52, and his gutty running netted him a fine
fifth in 3:40.47. Sergio Gallardo of Spain took the lead and did not
relinquish it, running 3:38.56 for the win, and his 54 second last lap kpet
him in front. Rui Silva of Portugal came up the farthest and his last lap,
under 53 seconds nabbed all but Gallardo. Mo Farah, who is coming off
a fine 13:09.53 at Huedson last Saturday, with his former pb being
13:30.32, ran 3:39.02, a seasonal best for third. Mo is ready for the
Europeans! Andrew Baddeley of UK was fourth in 3:39.96. James Nolan of Ireland
was fifth in 3:40.43. In sixth place was front runner Nick McCormick, in
3:40.47. Women's 3,000 meters Tirunesh Dibaba, Berhane Adere and Ejegayehu Dibaba, all of Ethipia,
were challenge by Joanna Pavey of Great Britian in the second
kilometer, and it changed the race! The race started with Lindsey Gallo of the U.S. hitting the kilometer mark
in 2:47.75. Joanna Pavey took over from there and pushed the pace,
hitting the 2 kilo mark in 5:44.95, having run that kilometer in 2:57. Then the race became a fartlek session, with Adere pushing it, then
Ejegayehu Dibaba pushing it, then Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya pushing it,
all the while Joanne Pavey would grab the lead and it was taken from
her. With 600 meters to go, Berhand Adere, and both Dibaba's took off,
dropping Joanne Pavey and Vivian Cheruiyot. Tirunseh Dibaba is the little engine that could. Her last lap, in the 62
second range, was all done over the last two hundred meters--she
comes off the turn like a sling shot and she runs as hard as she can, and
is rewarded with a fine 8:29.55, a personal best and the fourth best time
in world this year ( Meseret Defar, the 5k record holder, ran 8:24.55 on
July 25). Adere was second in 8:33.17, Ejegayehu Dibaba was third in
8:35.94, a personal best, and Joanne Pavey of Great Britian was
rewarded with a seasonal best of 8:38.80, and Vivian Cheriyuit of Kenya
ran a personal best of 8:43.05. Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia was sixth
in 8:43.41. In seventh place, Carrie Tolefson of the U.S. who ran with
Kim Smith the entire way, ran a personal best of 8:44.63. Kim Smith of
New Zealand was right behind her, also ran a personal best in 8:47.06! Men's High Jump, Sweden's best... Stefan Holm's victory in the high jump would give Sweden three for
three in the jumps at the Norwich Union this year! A seasonal best of
2.34 meters, gave London GP another world leader. Germaine Mason,
peaking at the right time, also cleared a seasonal best of 2.31 meters,
giving him second place. American Jesse Williams took third in 2.28
meters (he has cleared 2.32 this season!). Women's 100 meters, Marion Jones is human after all... Sherone Simpson, the 22 year old from Jamaica ran 10.82 on June 24
and woke up a few around the world. Marion Jones ran 10.91 on July 14
and the race was on. Running into a negative wind, Sherone got out slowest with her .169 out
of the blocks, but Marion Jones wnent out in .157, the fastest start of the
race. Jones came up fast, perhaps a bit nervous, and Simpson and
Jones ran from 40 meters on together, until about 90 meters, when
Simpson put the gas down and ran 11.00 for the win, remembering to
duck her head at the finish and running through the tape. Jones ducked
at the tape as well, but had given up a step, and was second in 11.05.
Torri Edwards was third in 11.26. Stephanie Durst was fourth in 11.28.
Debbie Ferguson of Jamaica was fifth in 11.32 and Allyson Felix was
sixth in 11.33. Men's 400 meters...two words: Jeremy Wariner... How do we put this? Jeremy Wariner owns the 400 meters, and his
absolute domination of the event does a disservice to what he and his
coach, Clyde Hart,
have done for the 400 meters. This season Wariner has run 43.91, then
43.62 and
tonight, 43.99! That is so fast, averaging under 11 seconds for four
consecutive one hundred meter runs, with no break! Jeremy went out strong, but it was Timothy Benjamin of the UK who
went out the hardest (.176). Actually, what is funny is that Wariner got
out in .229, Rock got out slower in .265, but yet, they blew the field away! Wariner came off the turn in the lead and ran it home, taking a nap, and
looking like he needed to shop in duty free over the last forty meters, this
writer has not seen a 43.99 achieved without compete effort
since....hmmmmm...could it be Michael Johnson in Sevilla? Amdrew Rock, the man running with the entire state of Wisconsin on his
back, runs his last fifty meters so fast that no one but Wariner gets
ahead. Rock took second in 44.81. In third was Michael Blackwood of
Jamaica, who ran 45.14. In fourth was Darold Williamson, Wariners'
training partner, who ran 45.34 and in fifth was a returning into shape
Marc Raquil of France, who ran 45.37 and should be in the hunt for the
European gold. Timothy Benjamin of the UK showed he was getting fit
with his sixth in 45.38, a seasonal best! Wariner does make running the 400 meters look way too easy. Next
time you watch him run, just take a look at the guy in fourth or fifth, and
marvel that while they are running 45 seconds for 400 meters, there is a
guy already starting his cooldown
in the same event. Women's 400 meters...It's Sanya Richards' time... Sanya Richards is making believers out of track fans everywhere. Her
run here made the 15,000 fans in Crystal Palace wonder how fast she
could go! Winning by over one second, Sanya Richards came off the
turn with such a huge lead, someone could have thought that there were
two races. Novlene Williams of Jamaica ran a fine 50.24 for second, but
that was 1.19 seconds behind the winning time of 49.05--the world
leader! Shericka Williams of Jamaica was third in 50.44, and Nicola
Sanders of the UK scored a personal best of 50.68 in front of an
appreciative home crowd. Monique Henderson of the U.S. was fifth in
50.99. Women's Pole Vault..Isinbayeva wins, Stuczynski gets vault pr! A field of ten women vaulters again showed how far this event has
come. Dana Ellis of Canada was tenth in 4.20 meters, with Mary Sauer
in ninth at 4.35. British vaulter Kate Dennison scored a personal best in
4.35 meters, still a way off from Janine Whitlock's national record of
4.47m, but getting closer. In seventh, Jillian Schwartz cleared 4.35m on her second attempt, but
could go no higher. Janine Whitlock the UK record holder, cleared 4.35
meters, her seasonal best, but that was all she wrote tonight. Kym Howe of Australia took fifth with a clearance of 4.45 meters, on her
second attempt and missed all three at 4.55 meters. Tatiana Grigorieva
of Australia was fourth in 4.45 meters, with first attempt clearances of
4.20, 4.35, 4.45 and then three misses at 4.55. And now, it gets interesting...Svetlana Feofanova cleared 4.45, 4.55 and
4.65 on her first attempts, and the Russian was in control--Feofanova
looked her best in three years! American Jenny Stuczynski is just plain scary. At the end of nearly a
month in Europe, the vaulter, who has been vaulting for less than three
years, missed first attempts at 4.45 and 4.55, only to clear her personal
best of 4.65 meters on her first attempt! And now, superstar Yelena Isinbayeva, the Sergei Bubka of the
women's pole vault added some drama by missing on her first attempt at
4.65, and passing. So, at that time Feofanova and Stuczynski were one
and two, and Isinbayeva was zippo. At 4.75 meters, a height only cleared by Isinbayeva and Monica Pyrek of
Poland this year, Svetlana misses on her first attempt, as does Jenny
Stuczynski.
So, Isinbayeva brushes her hands, goes to the end of the runway, says
a prayer in Russian, looks up at the bar, and takes a deep breath. She
then looks over at the Omega time clock, checking the wind and
determining how much time she still has to play with before she gives it
her all. Lifting the pole, Isinbayeva begins her run, charging up to the pit,
planting the pole and catapulting herself over 4.75 meters on her first
attempt! Party is over, do not collect $100, Isinbayeva is back in control! Svetlana Feofanova missed at her last two attempts at 4.75 meters and
took second place. Jenny Stuczynski also missed on her last two, taking
third with her fine 4.65 meters. But now, it was the Yelena Isinbayeva show. Isinbayeva cleared 4.91
meters on her second attempt and had the bar raised to where dear
readers? Well, if you follow the stock market as close as you follow Ms.
Isinbayeva's clearances, you realize that the one centimeter
improvements in the women's pole vault record have garnered her a few
rubles. The best women pole vaulter in the world requested the bar be
raised to 5.02 meters, just a smidge above her 5.01 from August 12,
2005. Isinbayeva has made a side career out of taking bonuses from the Fast
Track Events folks, but my guess is that Mr. Stewart, Mr. Ridgeon and
Mr.Pascoe breathed a sigh of relieve that, this one time, Yelena
Isinbayeva gave Fast Track a world leader, but not a world record. The Russian and Polish teams in the women's pole vault should be
brutally competitive at the Europeans. My picks: Isinbayeva, Monika
Pyrek of Poland, and Vanessa Boslak of France for the Euro medals. Men's Triple Jump--Olsson ready for the Europeans... Sweden has its stars and those stars were injured over the last year, but,
thanks again to their athleticism, desire to succeed and Swedish rehab,
Christian Olsson showed why he is quite dangerous in the triple jump.
He took one jump, at 17.42 meters and the party was over. Phillips
Idowu of the UK took second, being the only other person over 17
meters, and Kenta Bell, the triple jumper that US jump stud Mike Conley
told ATF is one of the most talented young jumpers in the world finished
eighth in 16.02. I always remind our readers that it was Sebastian Coe who said that the
triple jump is the most destructive event in the sport of athletics. I do
remember seeing Jonathan Edwards' series in Gothenburg in August
1995 for the World Championships. The 18.29 meters was and still is,
one of the most amazing feats of athleticism that I have ever witnessed.
Edward's speed, and his ability to convert that speed into controlled
steps astounded the crowd that day and real track geeks alike! We will have to see what good luck Gothenburg does for Swede Olsson
in two weeks! Women's 800 meters--Where track & field meets roller derby... This race gave all in it a real lesson in broken field running, and with the
Europeans a few weeks away, Brits Rebecca Lynn, Amanda Pritchard
and Marilyn Okoro sure looked tough. Faith Macharia of Kenay took the field out in a quite fast 56.26 for 400
meters with Janeth Jepkosegie of Kenya, Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica,
Hazel Clark, Rebecca Lynn, Amanda Pritchard and Marilyn Okoro of
U.K. all in attendance. The track was so thick with 800 meter runners, there was some trouble
moving through the crowd. Janeth Jepkosgei charged in the last sixty
meters to run 1:58.54 and take the win. Nearly as fast was Rebecca
Lynn of the U.K. who held on while many around her were falling back,
to take second in 1:58.69! Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica held on for third in
1:58.76, and it did not stop there! Hazel Clark of the U.S. ran her best
race of the season with a 1:59.48, with Amanda Pritchard of the UK
scoring a personal best in 1:59.74 for fifth. Marilyn Okoro of the UK also
ran a personal best, dipping under 2:00 with her fine 1:59.75. All in all,
three under 1:59, six under 2:00, ten under 2:01.5! And a nice
competition, which thilled the crowd. Women's high jump.. she's baaaack! Bergqvist attempts WR! Kajsa Bergqvist has been to hell and back. Thanks to the amazing
medical system in Sweden, and Bergqvists' own desire to return the
health, athletics fans were privilidged to see a true class in advanced
high jumping. And when we say high jumping without peers, we mean it. Amy Acuff of
the U.S., who finished second in 1.94, with Antonella Di Martino of Italy
was third in a seasonal best of 1.94 and Blanka Vlasic was fourth, with
the Croatian clearing 1.94m as well. Kajsa was testing...first attempt clearance at 1.88m, then a first attempt at
1.94 meters, and she was one of four jumpers to clear this height. At
1.97m, Acuff and Di Martino were out, with three attempts, but no
clearance. Blanka Vlasic showed some guts and passed at 1.97m,
going for the win at 2.00, and she missed at her first attempt. Kajsa went to the outside lane of the track, visualized, and began her
run up for her first attempt at 2.00, which she also missed. Regrouping,
Bergqvist cleared 2.00m on her second attempt and she was the in the
lead. When Vlasic missed her next two attempts, Bergquvist knew the
competition was hers, and she could relax and see what she could do. This was where the fans near the high jump pit got a treat. Kajsa cleared
2.05 meters with room to spare and she was ecstatic! She requested the
bar be moved to 2.10 meters, a new world record (world record is Stekfa
Kostandinova of Bulgaria's 2.09 from 1987!). Bergqvest's first two attempts were misses, and Kasja again put all on
the line, began her run up, and came eerily close to the world record!
Kasja Bergqvist is back and all of Sweden should be screaming when
she goes for the European Championships in two weeks in Gothenburg. Men's 5,000 meters--a season's goal achieved! Meet Director Ian Stewart and I have been chatting about the London 5k
for several months now. And what a field Stewart had assembled!
Kenenisa Bekeke, WR holder at 5k, in 12:37.35, Eliud Kipchoge of
Kenya, World Champion in '03, Augustine Choge of Kenya (who has run
12:56.4 this summer), Ben Limo, World Champ in 05, Craig Mottram,
Commonwealth 5k silver, plus Benard Lagat, Adam Goucher, Ryan Hall,
Jorge Torres and Abdi Abdirahman from the U.S. The 15,000 fans were treated to a truly classic 5,000 meter race: The
seventeen runners went off at 13 minute pace, hitting the first kilometer
in 2:34.57, with Labin Rotich of Kenya in the lead. Tucked into the pack
were Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia,
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, Ben Limo of Kenya, Craig Mottram of
Australia, Adam Goucher of U.S.A and Bernard Lagat of the U.S. The pace was swift and the effort was telling on many faces. Jorge
Torres, the U.S. 10k champion, retired between 2 and 3k. 2k was hit by
Labin Rotich in 5:16.49, before he peeled off the track and Churchill
Kipsang of Kenya hit the 3k in 7:53.47. The pack of Limo, Kipchoge,
Bekele, Mottram, Lagat and Goucher were all there, with Goucher
dropping back about ten meters. At 3200 meters, Daniel Lincon, who
had run a AR in the steeplechase(8:08.82) and an 8:11.51 steeple in the
past week, retired from the competition. The pace picked up as Eliud Kipchoge, the 2004 World Champ, picked
up the pace, with Bekele, Limo and Lagat all looking fresh and pushed
the fourth kilometer, which the gang of five hit in 10:33.47. So, what else was going on in this race, dear readers? Well, let's add
some suspense...here is how the kilometres were breaking down: 2:34
for kllo one,
2:42 for kilo two, 2:37 for kilo three and 2:40 for kilo four. On the U.S. side, Adam Goucher had fallen back during the third
kilometer, but fought back in the fourth kilometer to get himself back on a
sub 13:20 pace, as had Abdi Abdirahman. Craig Mottram of Australia
was having a tough race, and was in the pack, but along with Boniface
Songok of Kenya, Franscico Alves of Spain, and Ben Limo of Kenya,
they were not controlling the race. All eyes were on Kenenisa Bekele, the world record holder at 5,000
meters and 10,000 meters. Bekele has eyes in the back of his head, and
knows he is the hunted one in races in Europe. Augustine Choge, Eliud
Kipchoge, Ben Limo and most dangerously lurking was one Bernard
Lagat. Lagat knows how to peak. One month ago, he won both the 1,500
meters and 5,000 meters at the US championships, against tough
competition (a resurgent Gabe Jennings, 3:33 perforrmer Chris Lukesic
and 13:04 5k runner Matt Tegankamp). In Europe, he has run two 1,500
meters, in Paris and Laussane, and in a 3k in Reythmno--his 1,500
meters this season is down to 3:31.48. This season, for Lagat, it is all about the 5,000 meters. And a workout of
18 times 300 with a 100 jog in between (average time of 41 seconds for
the 300s, 35 seconds for the jog) showed him his fitness. Bekele looked around and took off at 12:07.8, and the gang, now of four
let him, as Ben Limo went off the back, with Songak, Mottram, Alves and
Goucher in a third group.
The gang of four was Bekele, Choge, Kipchoge and Lagat. All but Lagat
were in full flight with 275 meters to go, and it looked for about ten
meters like Lagat, who was running relaxed, might not catch him.
Consider for a moment, what was going through Bernard's head as he
made this herculean efffort to catch the world record holder, who was
flying with his metronome like strides, quick and efficient! However, Pavlov was right, with the right stimulus, comes the right
reaction, and this Law was proven once again, for as Bekele, Choge
and Kipchoge came around two hundred meters, Lagat let loose and his
full stride betrayed his speed. Fast twitch fibers were firing and Lagat
was moving, very, very fast! Coming off the turn, Lagat was in full flight and he had timed the move
perfectly. He went by Kenenisa Bekele about 80 meters to go and that
was that, as Bernard Lagat took his most signifigant win of the year in
12:59.92. For those of us interested in how fast the last kilometre was, consider
this--a 2:27 last 1,000 meters with the last lap in 51.42! Bekele held
onto second in 13:00.04, Augustine Choge was third in 13:00.74, Eliud
Kipchoge was fourth in 13:01.74 and
Ben Limo was fifth in 13:04.68. Boniface Songok was sixth in 13:07.84,
Craig Mottram was seventh in 13:08.96, Franscico Alves was eighth in
13:11.01, Adam Goucher was ninth in 13:15.94 (Adam had run 13:10 in
Huedson earlier this month!), and Abdi Abdirahman was tenth in
13:18.89. Rodw Koborsi of the U.S. was eleventh in 13:33.82 and Ryan
Hall was thirteenth in 13:58.69. (A note needs to be made here. Meet director Stewart, the '72 Olympic
5,000 meter bronze medalist, is a man with some complication. This
writer, who has inquired about his
Olympic medal was told that he never, ever looks at the thing, and he
has, at other times considered it one of his less than exemplar races. A
complete distance runner,
Stewart supports young athletes, especially British and American
runners, who need
the chance to get beat up a bit on the European circuit. Beneath the
tough exterior--a toughness honed by a need to protect himself--lies a
man who cares deeply about the sport of athletics.) Men's 100m Finals--Tenth Time this season is a charm, Powell
shows his metal! The story of the summer in the sprints has been Asafa Powell, who had,
until tonight, run nine times this season under ten seconds. Tonight, he
made it ten times. There was a false start for the field before the field got off legally.
Leonard Scott got out best (.143 to Powell's .144), but he did not keep it
long. Asafa Powell started to move and moved he did, all the way
through the finish line, running 9.91! In second was Leonard Scott in
10.01, Shawn Crawford in 10.04 for third and Francis Obikwelu of
Portugal (world champ silver, #10 all time 100m list) in fourth. In the semi finals, Powell had run round 2 and won in 10.12, and looked
like he was ready to roll. Asafa Powell is, however, not yet a racer.
Powell seems to be a sprinter who can run fast times, but when
someone comes along side him, he tends to tighten up and panic. Championships are won by racers, not always the runner with the
fastest time. But for tonight, the crowd cared about one thing--Asafa
Powell is the fastest 100 meter runner in London today! Flash! Commentary...mia sorgia During dinner on Saturday night, July 29, a reuters.com release
announcing that Justin Gatlin, who had not run at Gateshead or London,
and was reputedly injured at the nationals was announced to have had
a high percentage of "Testosterone or its precursors," in an A sample
done at the Kansas Relays, which happened near the end of April. The
second sample, which was tested in July, also contained a similar
percentage of testosterone. Apparently, much like the Landis Tour de
France situation, Gatlin's legal counsel may have leaked this to the
press before the official announcement. We will comment on this after
the situation sorts itself out. In speaking to Meet Director Stewart, he lauded USA Track & Field for a)
getting out of the drug testing business and b) proving that they could be
trusted to deal with even the biggest athletes in a drug controversy. ATF
joins Stewart in lauding the federation
in dealing with the degeneration caused by the perception and reality of
drug use in our sport of athletics. Any great performance is tainted by the
suspicion of "better running through chemistry. " Getting the federations
out of testing is to be lauded, and while ATF has some concerns in the
athletes rights areas and in the seemingly arbitrary levels of hormones
or drugs that determine the end of an athletes career, in most cases,
USADA and WADA are doing their best in a part of the sport culture that
is filthy at best, and criminal at worst. ATF also wants to know if it is time to reprimand coaches who have had
a group of athletes who have tested positive in WADA and USADA
testing. The coach-athlete relationship, in our mind, is a near sacred
relationship, and young athletes rely on their coaches and trainers for
much more than workouts. They are a in a position of extreme
importance, and in respect to the 80,000 plus athletics coaches in the
United States, ATF believes strongly that the federation, USADA and
WADA, must develop a program to reprimand coaches who have
denigrated the profession. atf newswire is published by Shooting Star Media, Inc. Shooting Star Media, Inc. is proudly represented by the Running
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