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Dwayne Mission GB

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24/08/2006 "Hair thinks he is bigger than the players, the spectators, officials and above all the game. He should be sacked immediately" A quote from Sri Lanka and India. So it's Betmaster - but maybe athletics needs to learn the same lesson- the Sport is bigger than the Individuals- whether competitors of Admin. Athletics seems to work on a basis at the moment that the Adin are more important than the Athletes- I mean Admin not the Officials at the Track. UKA should promote the sport not individuals What I would love to see is a "Good Sportsperson award"iniative". When I played sport behaviour was important- we shook hands apart from one dire and dirty game of rugby when we walked off at half time-but been bitten was pretty unpleasant- so lets see the basics get back into sport. Respect for competitors-win or lose.

23/08/2006 What a sad day for sport when the self -proclaimed Mr Clean Justin Gatlin admits his drug offences- well not sure whether he has admitted, but is co-operating wish USADA to get a reduced sentence. You never quite know with the Americans quite what is going on- they might have said "Son, you have failed a second test, might be a bit dodgy, but we wanna get Graham- you help us and we will go easy on you". Maybe the truth, we will never know. But has made me think about the whole problem.

A Fable -a failed drug test

Mr Drugauthority says look you will be banned from competing for 2 years and will never compete at the Olympics- that's what happens now. But Mr Drugauthoriy say's "look here son(or girl), you've ben bad-and the penalties are a two year ban for a first offence. But here is a deal, we know you are not all bad, we will waive a ban if you tell us the man(or woman) who got you into this. You will then be allowed to compete, but not at a World Champs/Olympics for the next 2 years. But , Son/Girl, if you don't spill the beans you will never run in the Olympics or World Championships again."

So Master ( or Miss) Fool go away and think about it. Why did I do this, who got me into this crap. So they go back to Mr Drugauthority and spill the beans about who suggested they get into doping and supplied.

Mr Drugauthority is a nice guy, he wants to see these talented athletes continue in the sport. He really wants to go for the suppliers/sponsors and coaches who encourage Master/Miss Fool to try dope when they really do not need it.

So Mr Nice Drugauthority has the proof from the Fool's and nails the villains and everyone is happy. Master/Miss Fool carry on competing- clean now because Mr Drugauthority visits unexpectedly every couple of months and the Fools know that one more failed test is the end of their career.

And nice Mr Drugauthority goes home to sleep knowing that he has nailed the villains.As he goes to sleep, he is happy that the Fools just made one mistake because of the Villains and dreams of the success the talented Fools might still have.

The Villains have been caught- they have been banned for life and sit ruefully in the prison cell of their failed dreams and financial success. Exposed and shamed, they are shunned by all in the Sport. They turn to peddling drugs to kids, are caught and sentenced to a prison sentence.

Master and Miss Fool carry on in the sport, running clean. One day they win a Gold medal at the Olympics, and show to their offspring with pride, the medal they won as clean athletes. They never see their friends Mr and Mrs Unclean, who cheated again and were banned for life.

Many years later as the sit on their porch the Fool's Granddaughter comes up and says what happened to Uncle and Aunty Unclean. "They died ages ago" they reply " because they wanted a tainted dream".

23/08/2006 "Gatlin has agreed to cooperate with USADA by providing information that may assist in USADA’s anti-doping efforts. In exchange for Gatlin’s promise to cooperate and in recognition of the exceptional circumstances of his prior violation, USADA has agreed that the maximum period of suspension for this violation would be eight (8) years."See full release.

23/08/2006 Hard to separate nice guys, cheats- some interesting thoughts on promoting sport not individuals and life band first offence.

22/06/2006 Collins seems to have got away for it at the moment- good luck to him. Will not last because athletes are pretty anti the personal and public discussion of their performances- though I cannot find these Trouble is Collin's talks too much and especially about individual athletes. Probably his military back ground where it is pretty usual to promote soldiers and publicly humiliate others at the same time. He waxes lyrically about the GB juniors- but as he should know young success does not always mean senior success- and there are others around. Young Ashlee Nelson missed out because she was young - a 1991 U15 rather than 1990 so not allowed to attend. Her brother I think, Alex Nelson did OK.

But we have been here before with young Sprinters- the wonderful Amy Spencer packed it in- I gather to concentrate on her education and career- a safer bet maybe than the chance of running for GB and struggling financially. I spoke with her once and she seemed weary after all the adulation and getting BBC Blue Peter Young Sports women- huge talent - but lost to the sport for the moment. So Collins needs to be well aware that building up athletes into a fever pitch for 2012 carries a huge risk. It could be London getting the Olympics will be the worse thing for the sport- it is all anyone talks about. I know Emily is fed up with everyone saying will you run at the Olympics as soon as they here she is a runner-must happen to every one in Athletics.

Lets calm down, we have an Olympics in 2008, a couple of World Championships and a Commonwealth Games, plus 2 World Juniors, Youth Commonwealth etc to get through before London. And European Championships, Internationals etc.

So bit early Mr Collins to be laying your bets on athletes. There are a host of Young Athletes still growing physically who show signs of promise- HAA maybe the best youngster at the moment over 100m, but they come in cycles and in 2 years there will be a knew boy and girl on the blocks- that is for sure. If not the sport will have failed.

Young Chelsea Cooper looks good though.Won the AAA U17W CE(as a first year U17) despite having Hamstring problems, which meant she has missed out in speed work- her 200m time shows that-fully fit she is a 24.5 runner easily(She won the AAA indoors in 24.25). Her weakness is the 800m, but that will come. But with good all round skills- she has jumped 5.91 in the LJ- she looks to be a really good prospect if she keeps fit and focused. She seems to have a good coach and a very good attitude- no tantrums- the weakness of other athletes- and I am told a nice athlete to compete with. And I mean with, not against- that is the crucial distinction- young athletes need to compete with other athletes, all trying to do their best, not against. Win only in a performance goal is exactly that-negative. Competing against an athlete to beat the individual is a negative, competing to do your best is a positive. Positives =success. MLF is possibly a classic- seems worried about his individual performance, but in a Relay possibly the best we have ever had as last leg-positive in the relay.

Realised this years ago when made the fatal mistake of saying to Emily "you could win this"- negative reaction (she did win)- now we just talk-when we talk- about focusing on doing one's best- and enjoying. Like MLF she seems to shine in the relay- well comments I get as I rarely see her run. The sport is about PB's- not just winning - well in most events other than the middle distance where tactics take a place, though never quite sure why athletes with no sprint finish let races be run slowly- but not an expert on middle distance- no athlete will interfere with your performance. If you have a good performance , then a new target, if bad , then work out why and do not do it again. The good young athletes know what went wrong, and work at it-the weak just throw a wobbly.

22/08/2006 Chris Carter has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning two gold medals at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships in Beijing, China.

220/08/2006 Drugs in Sport: Many Athletes Express Shock Over Gatlin's Positive Test

22/08/2006 IAAF criticizes lax drug testing on runners for world records

22/08/2006 IAAF refuses to ratify 3 records

22/08/2006 Sporting heroes with their lives in order
An end to the days of the "wild child" sports star? An article from Finland

22/08/2006 Just seen one of the Google ads on site- will complain asap re steroids. If they will not block I will stop this campaign that earns me a little.- very little.

21/08/2006 UK Athletics claims to want more kids in the sport. I have just picked up a rumours that the Welsh Schools and Welsh National U17 and below age groups will be merged into one competition. Ok on the face of it save some money -many medallists are the same. But there is a difference. The Schools takes top 2 from each region, whereas any Welsh Athlete can enter the National Champs. As I am told under then new structure this will change and the new Welsh Schools and National Championships will only have the top two from the regions, plus any athlete who makes a standard. This is rubbish , it means that kids interested in the Sport- but maybe not that good-at the moment- will be excluded. So the aim of competiting at a Welsh Championship will disappear- and so will the athletes. Many second division, for want of a better word, compete at the National Champs and enjoy it- this is now being taken away. As I gather this is the idea of the Welsh Sports Council- who seem obsessed with controlling Welsh Sport rather than their role, as I though it, as funders. What this means is that if you have a region within Wales with 3 good athletes, only 2 will be able to compete- the 3rd will have to rely on a wild card. And it takes away all the kids who just want to compete, however well they do. Seems like the Power of Ten really does mean that- no-one interested in others than the top Ten. What load of 4X and the engineers of this should leave sport- the obviously have no understanding of Sport and in particular athletics. Where would Anwen Rees be now under this great system- I will have to check with her, but not sure she showed great promise as a U15- now runnin for GB.

So that's Wales- guess what they are doing is trying to bring Wales into line with England- there is no English Championships- though they have the regional Champs- will these also disappear under the new regime. This will fail with the Scots- they have thier own identity -legally and politically ( out of sport)- so yet again Wales will get beaten up and N.I will just follow along.

GB lead the way in the number of clean athletes- we only have 3 recent failures still competing- Chambers, Myserscough and Whitlock- the USA with 10 times the population have 6- I think -maybe more memory is poor- but on a multiplier USA should have 30. No sure they have that many- and I tend to distrust USA- a Nation that tends to want to win whatever.

Bejing is still a few years away and all the Worlds Elite will compete before then and be tested on numerous ocassions all over the world. But will it make a difference. Doubt it, the cheats will find ways of doing so- rumours have it that if Jones did cheat it was not for EPO, but using EPO as a masking agent:"Erythropoietin, or EPO, is an artificial hormone that allows the blood to carry more oxygen, thus boosting endurance. It is favored by endurance athletes and has saturated such sports as professional cycling and cross-country skiing." Unlikely a sprinter would use-but could help with speed endurance training.So "Like hGH, EPO levels in the blood do not remain elevated for long, making detection difficult. The standard test doesn’t measure EPO levels; rather, it measures the concentration of red blood cells in a blood sample. But because this test is only an indicator of possible EPO abuse, more reliable tests are needed."

In Australia :"One method for detecting EPO currently being investigated involves a protein called transferrin, which could be an indirect marker of EPO use. Scientists are also looking at techniques to distinguish molecular differences between the EPO produced by the body and that manufactured in the laboratory. A method developed by Australian scientists uses blood profiles to detect athletes with a disproportionate number of young and maturing red blood cells (Box 1). A test developed by French scientists analyses urine samples. "

So maybe no-one loked at EPO in Sprinters .Of course they do not know who they are testing. Urine has been the main test for some time. Search for"Buy EPO" on the Internet- scary.

It is quite interesting looking into Drugs in Sport- my bible is David Mottram's " Drugs in Sport". What I have not quite discovered yet is whether samples are tested straight away or due, as a doctor friend of mine suggested might be batch tested due to costs of settin up a test. UK Sport will no respond to questions, which is a shame, this is a Big.big issue.

Or maybe a non-issue. Do we really care ? Athletes use money to train at high altitude, which apparently replicates EPO. So is the use of cash to help, any different that using a needle, or whatever they do. If an athlete wants to risk their health to gain an advantage and possibly die young is that a problem? Maybe all we need is athletes to wear a badge saying" test me" then we will know who is clean or not !! Two Gold medals in each event.

21/08/2006 Distance runners getting put on the back burner? (Bahamas)

21/0/2006 Has Colins moved to Nigeria ? see below.

Nigeria: Checking the Rot in Nigeria's Track And Field

21/08/2006 European Team for World Cup

20/08/2006 'Talented' Robertson packs away hockey gear to focus on track- News from Canada on a 17 year old Future star

20/08/2006 Chelsea Cooper(Stoke) wins U17W AAA Combined Evens to-day with Caryl Granville (Carmarthen) 2nd.

19/08/2006 "U.S. sprinter Marion Jones, a five-time Olympic medalist, failed a drug test at the U.S. national championships in Indianapolis in June, according to sources with knowledge of the test results." Full story

This is has just hit my news service. same time as I was listening to John Lennon. A double blow, the greatest musician ever(killed) and now it seems the greatest (we thought) female sprint athlete found possibly positive. I dont know what to say, is she so thick that after all the stories and investigations she still used drugs. I cannot believe it- I am at a loss for once for words to describe how I feel. I really thought she was clean, if true she has let down thousands of fans and may have wrecked the sport for ever. .My gut feeling is UKA should stop any UK athlete using an american coach= well let them but do not fund them. I am truly gutted.

This is of course public knowledge from years back"Jones's track future was jeopardized when she failed to show up for a random drug test (the letter notifying her of the test never reached her), and she was banned from the sport for four years. Link

19/08/2006 Celtic Cup. Poor old Wales- apart from Julie Crane and Anwen Rees what a poor showing. This a problem of Wales own making- there is no youth development programme in place as far as I am aware. So no surprise that a weak Welsh female sprint team get a hammering- they struggled to beat a Scottish development team-i.e 15 year olds.

18/08/2006 Powell ties sprint world record.Jamaica's Asafa Powell equalled his 100-metre sprint world record of 9.77 seconds at the Weltklasse Golden League meet in Zurich . Story

18/08/2006 Barnett sprints to silver at junior worlds

18/08/2006 Is it game over for Pidgeon?. She ran alright last night in the BMC Juniors- they got a World record as I recall. It is on the UKA site she has withdrawn from Norwich Union Intenational this weekend..Apart from the fact why did she run yesterday knowing she had an Internatonal this w/e, it looks like her boorish behaviour continues.I hope as a Tax payer I am not supporting her and as an occassional lottery player she is not getting any of my lost money. Let her and her Parents/ Coach make a bundle of money out of her talent- but they obviously have no interest in GB team. There are plenty of athletes who would love to run for their country and have made huge sacrifices to do so .Let them run- I would rather see an athlete fail with pride, rather than cowering to a prima donna. So goodbye Emily, you will not feature on this site whatever you achieve-byebye.

My daughter will not run for GB either unless the track is Pink, she has a personal carer to look after her hair, her own personal changing room, a nice guy to carry her blocks out to the start, lots of money for bothering to turn up and then will only do so if she feels like it. She may then decide to run, but only if the camera angle is right, she prefers it on her left. No other athlete allowed to compete in the race. Even then she may decide not to turn up. The TV company called up and that was far more exciting and she did not want to look flustered. As if.

Darren Campbell had no silver spoon, worked his way up to become one of GB,s great athletes and ran with pride for his country on so many occassions . He had pride, belief and wanted to run for his country and never let GB down. I am sure he will miss it, but should take satisfaction in the joy he gave all of us in the sport. I cannot recall a time he failed to deliver his best for GB-probably because he never did.

18/08/2006 For Canada's junior athletes, competition is a pay-to-play proposition

18/08/2006 World Juniors-Palli takes silver and sets eyes on Japan

18/08/2006 Bobby George hopes to gain World Cup selection in Colombo – South Asian Games

18/08/2006 There are 7 CelticNations- but 8 teams as Ireland and Northern Ireland have seperate teams."The Isle of Man is a Celtic Nation,there are seven:

Ireland Scotland,Wales,Cornwall,Brittany,Galicia+Asturia (north west spain) maybe they should get all these involved,would be great for tourism as well." Thanks to John Tobin from Ireland

Makes the whole idea even more exciting than just adding Isle of Man. It woud be a wonderful competition- and at least there would not be just one athlete in each discipline not getting a medal. But apart from that it would be of huge benefit to all these athletes to mix with more different cultures and backgrounds. Brittany has a poulation of 4.0m, Isle of Man 75,000, Cornwall 2.8,.Galaicia 3.0m ,Asturia 1.2m,Wales 2.9m, Scotland 5.0m, Ireland 4.0m and Northern Ireland 1.7m. So apart from Isle of Man reasonable populations.

I understand that the existng structure has gone on for 30 years- so time to change. In the troubled world we live in more reason to get more Youngsters competing against as many Nationalities as possible. And what better place to hold the first than Belfast, which has seen a lot of problems over the last 30 years- and more.The Isle of Man has a Commonwealth team- lets start with a Celtic Commonwealth- it could be expanded further there are Welsh speaking communities in Patagonia, India and Japan. But lets just stick to the realistic for the moment.

There is no Celtic Games committee- the representatives just meet after the last match and agree the next. So I will email all concerned- the existing Nations and the excluded. If you want to support the idea email NIAthletic- they are hosting the next games. Or you can just email me and say I am wrong and lost the plot Charles.

Same of course could be applied to the new Celtic Cup for Seniors.

17/08/2006 Watched the Celtic Cup this evening- best performance to me was Anwen Rees in the medlay Relay- came through from last at change over to get Wales a silver medal. Outstanding run in the difficult conditions.

Missed Darren Campbell in the 100m- TV signal went down. A great GB sportsman, gather it was his last race, he has done so much for GB athletics over the years. End of an era for us in Wales with Katherine Merry retiring, Jamie Baulch and now Darren- I know not all Welsh but trained in Cardiff- and we used to see them a lot. Three of the best- and very nice people, good with young athletes. I hope they continue to be involved in the sport- we need people like them.

17/08/2006 Selection policy- as usual some weird ones. Take a 16yr old- talented-competed at an International last w/e. Competing again this w/e. At the last minute selected for Celtic Cup. So three major meetings in 7 days. The same selector's who chose a team for an U20 match, but no athletes under the strict age group of U20 selected. Work this one out, because I cannot. A 16 year selected to compete in a senior event-knowing they had a 2 day meet the next weekend but no U17 selected for an U20 event. (In a few weeks) when no-other events.

I actually agree that under age groups should be allowed to compete in older comps- but to expect a 16 year old to compete 3 times in a week- well we would hardly expect a Senior to do this. Athletics and ages is a nonsense- if an athlete is good enough run them whatever the age, but I would draw the line at 3 times in a week. They talk about burn out as the reason they do not select out of age- well burn out is undue pressure to compete. Hopefully this on will not backfire, but if it does then the Association will have to take full blame.

Hypocrisy seems to be the new buzz word in Athletics. People now who said no athlete should be put in a senior event are now more than happy- under the guise of a development programme. And did I see Emily Pidgeon run at Celtic cup. So what deal was done there ? Selected for GB (see below) and now also ran in Celtic Cup- for BMC. Great message to all athletes, throw a wobbly (twice now) but all forgiven. Drop her until her connections wake up to the fact the sport is bigger than her. She may be talented, but we do not need prima's in the sport. We need depth and athletes prepared to run for their country if selected and accept the terms.UKA looks like they are running scared of Pidgeon . Is she that much better than others- she failed in her attempt to qualify to run in Euro's, by a lap. Get real. Her connections seem to have convinced everyone that she is the best thing since sliced bread- I suggest she shuts up and just runs. And I rarely comment on young athletes by name, but she has put herself up there.

17/08/2006 JASPER COACH AND FORMER ATHLETE JOE RYAN RETURNS TO IRELAND FOR COMMEMORATIVE CEREMONY

16/0/2006 Celtic added- some good performance especially as many were first year U18 and conditions were difficult-swirling strong cross winds. Why the Isle of Man do not compete I am not sure- I think the IOM is a Celtic Nation- answers please if anyone knows ?

16/08/2006 One email I have had in is regarding an athlete tested weeks ago- still no results. I am going to try and research the testing procedure-post test to see why it takes so long. Any info gratefully received.Thanks.

16/08/2006 Harry Aikines Aryeetey 100m Gold, 15 year old Asha Phillip 4th in women's 100m.

16/08/2006The Emily Pidgeon saga carries on- dropped apparently from World Juniors becase would not follow rules and go to the Training Camp, now a few weeks later selected for GB. Sounds liks a mixed message - Pidgeon should be told to fit in-like all other athletes- or be left in the wilderness that her coach seems to want to put her in. This is sending a bad messages out to other athletes.

15/08/2006 Had this from a concerned athlete "Please understand me I fully support a persons right to a defence and fair trial however it is concerning that of those testing positive so few are prepared to accept the findings. What impression does this have on the younger athlete? I coach my young son who I know is confused about the issue. When the tests appear to be rigorous and positive and the athlete vehemently denies is my young lad to conclude that the tests and the testing procedure are worthless? or that he should fear a false positive test?"

This is a very fair point-few admit to taking drugs Maybe the rules and procedures need to be changed as follows. If an athlete fails a test they are at once re-tested. If fail again a life ban unless they say who supplied-then just a 2 year ban. If first positive and second negative, then a warning that a further failure will lead to a life ban. This assumes that results of testing are speedy- which they should be. So I cannot see why a Test should not have a result within 48 hours- so an athlete would be re-tested within 72 hours of the original test. As I gather most drugs used are to help with training, not for the actual event. Maybe some-one knows better. I have emailed this to UK Drugs- see if I get a response.

14/8/2006 Seems like Darren Campbell was annoyed with Dwain rather than the Press. Not convinced, he must be fed up with the lot. But he actually made a good point, and seized the chance to get maximum impact- I admire him for that- sorry Regis, Johnson and everyone else who knows more than me. Michael Johnson seems to have a problem with Darren,and has used his BBC role to make this clear . Well done for Darren to use his limited time to make a point . He is right- lets get the authorities to allow athletes convicted of a first drug offence to compete again only if they name the supplier. I get the feeling that there is someone in the scene trying to corrupt athletes- and the people peddling performance drugs are not doing it out of generosity-money will be involved.

I have no idea where you get these drugs from- might be worth trying to find out as an experiment. But where to start ? When I was young in London(many years ago) the All Saints Road was the place for dope(so Iwas told). Is there a street in London where you can get steroids or clever designer drugs- doubt it hardly a social drug. So how do you get them ? All suppliers please email me (sic) they will not.

So Darren made a good point- Dwain should go the whole way- he has admitted using drugs, now tell us who got you into it- and how. Did he wake up one morning and think "Gosh I have just realised I need drugs to break the World record" Doubt it. Or did some-one sidle up to him and say "Dwain you could break the World record, we will make millions, come with me". Its the usual Human dilemma- what will we do to get what we want, will we steal, lie or cheat to get what we want. I am sure Dwain was persuaded the rest of the elite were using so he might as well- no-one would ever know.

So come on Dwain- name them or are you running scared ?

As usual email me- I am sure you will all disagree.

Swedish police make 'doping' find

14/08/2006 Welsh Celtic Games Results

13/08/2006 A weary Welsh team came back from the Celtic Games this afternoon. The disco went on until 2.00 am and with the coach leaving at 5.00 am back not sure many bothered to sleep. So one very tired daughter !!They came 2nd to Scotland again- but that's not the point- they competed and had fun. What impressed me- is that as they staggered of the bus the Welsh Officials stood in a line and shook their hands The kids hopefully appreciated the time the adults took out to look after them-without this this sort of competition would not take place. Joyce Toymala as Team Manager works tirelessly on this, and Steve Brace, COE Welsh Athletics made the effort to attend- must have given up going to Europeans, to support the youngsters. Hopefully full results available soon, but a young Welsh team must be hopeful of a rare win next year-many were first year Competitors and some good athletes coming through across the board- though they will miss Caryl Granville who won 2 events.

13/08/2006 SEAA CE- I cannot convert the Male results to a PDF, so a spreadsheet-no sure why must be width sheet.

13/08/2006 Can only guess why Darren Campbell was so annoyed after the Relay win. But the relentless hostility to Christe's appointment as a UKA mentor- by the Press, with yet another attack by Saint Paula today on his coach and friend might be a factor. Christie coached Darren and Katherine Merry to Olympic medals- and the open hostility to his role in UKA must depress them. The suggestion he is not fit , when he trained athletes to Olympic success must be really frustrating. Darren and Linford have not only achieved huge success for GB but spend a huge amount of time with young athletes encouraging and helping them. The journalists who seem to be fueled with a vendetta ( by whom I can only guess-) seem unanimous- which is odd- normally the odd one stands up and takes a contra view. They are now trying to score cheap shots at the whole Nuff Respect organisation- the Times had a particularly snide remark by Rod Liddle who commenting about missed Drug tests and suggesting that Collins should get boffin's working on non -detectable drugs etc. His closing line- "Nuff Respect indeed." What is he trying to say, safe in the knowledge his lawyers would have checked every word for libel.

Darren may be upset about something else entirely- I am sure he will make a further comment when he feels it right. But as anyone who has met him,he is one of the nice guys- so he must be really annoyed.

Christine Ohuruogo seems to be a victim of UK drug testing policy. My initial reaction was why did she fail to get tested 3 times. Having spoken to several Athletes (U23)who have run for GB and on Elite funding I was surprised to hear that they were not on the Testing rota. So when do you get on the rota ?- they did not know. So actually how many Athletes have to make themselves available in GB ? from the sound of it 70 failed test could be every-one on the list. As one young GB athlete said to me how can we always be where we are meant to be for an hour a day things change-social, illness and competing The problem seems to be with the testers who seem maybe to be unable to find the athlete, rather than with the athlete. They must have mobile contact numbers- so all they have to do is ring and say where are you- most athletes are pretty good with mobiles. Then if not in the immediate area say I want you at XXX in the morning. Pretty easy or am I stupid. If competing overseas just make a phone call and get them tested overseas- must be simple. I have emailed UKA drug testing to ask how many are on the list and what the criteria are- will let you know. All I have discovered is that they will not test any U16 -unlike swimming.

Anyway of course Christine is managed- yes you guessed it- by Nuff Respect managed by Linford Christe. So pretty relentless pressure on Christie. No doubt the press will love this, another chance to lay into him.

So it could be that the continual assault on GB's finest Sprinter will continue ad nauseam. Fair to Collins-he has made many errors- his point score on athletes being the worst-, but he is using Linford- presumably because he has seem the file on the alleged doping offence-which UKA dismissed-it was the IAAF who sought the ban- remember that..

Cambell has probably saved Collins with a Gold-a great 2nd leg run-- not one Gold would have been the end-must be in the air now, but last days events have probably saved him until next week- we have the World Juniors coming up.

Good GB youngsters out there and mentored by Merry (coached by Christie) I am sure we will see some good results. It will be tough for some, the Jamaicans seem pretty confident over the female sprints, but we have a really talented sprinter out there-Asa Phillips. Seen her run a few times and she looks good- this will be an interesting challenge for her and I am sure she will do her best- all we can ask at this age. A medal would be great and well deserved.

13/08/2006 Time to pay: Athletics coach calls for support( NZ-full story

13/08/2006 Foster on attack as Britons fall short(The Independet)

12/08/2006 Middle distance runner Latifa Essarokh tested positive for a banned substance during a meet in Stockholm where she broke the French 1,500-metre record, France's track and field federation said Saturday. Full Story

12/08/2006 Jumps Fest 1 Lisa Sabel (Sale Harriers Manchester, U15) 5.37m and Chelsea Cooper (City of Stoke AC, U17) 5.91m perfromed well. Full report

11/08/2006 "Justin Gatlin could escape a lifetime ban if he testifies against his coach, the United States Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday.The 24-year-old American sprinter is facing the ban after a second positive doping test, but that could be reduced to eight years if Gatlin provides information in USADA's case against Trevor Graham."Full Story

11/08/2006 Belgium has a population of 10,364,388. GB has a population of 69,100,000. Belgium has 3 Gold's, GB zero. GB has 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals, Belgium none. So Belgium might lack depth, but they have developed some talent.

What would be interesting is how much each country at Euro's spend on the sport. UK have over 100 full time people involved apparently . How many do Belgium employ ? How many do Russia ? Is it like football where the English Coach was paid as I recall 100 times his Swedish colleague who coached the Swedish Team. GB as a great history of setting up systems, we nearly ruled the world in the 19c and had a huge number of civil servants running around- and GB is proud of is Civil Service. But it led to little in the end. Seems same is happening in athletics. In GB we need a person for every job, love structures and quango's so our admin costs are high, but how many are actually doing anything constructive. Every Sport had its own set up, every town a separate club for each sport (or two sometimes in the same sport.)

As a kid I played for AJAX in Holland- no not football, not hockey, not athletics-but cricket. The Club catered for all Sports. In Carmarthen, West Wales -we have (I think) 2 Rugby Clubs who do not talk, a football club, athletics, swimming, hockey, netball and probably a few more. All fighting for funding and facilities. Recently an Indoor Facility for Tennis and badminton has been built at the College. Tesco's seem to have bought a Rugby ground are are building a new Facility including a new Indoor facility. And the Council are apparently going to double the size of the existing Leisure centre as part of a plan to knock down two schools and make one. So Carmarthen will end up with 2 Indoor facilities for Tennis and Rugby, a larger Leisure centre and no Indoor facilities for the Athletes- and Carmarthen is one of the most successful U20 clubs in the UK let alone Wales.

So even in a small rural community the Clubs have failed to get to-gether with the College and Council and say lets just make one great facility, that would cater for all sports.An opportunity lost where Tesco and the Council with the College and all the Clubs could have formed a "super club"- Carmarthen Athletics, say, which catered for all Sports and all athletes competed for that club. Which since there are so many Volunteers with skills that could be used by all Sports is a waste. Carmarthen Harriers have a great team of Coaches- and yet then the Rugby boys come down and plod round the track doing their own thing. Would it no be better if the speed guys(the backs) in Rugby worked with top Athletic Coaches who could help them improve speed. And te Throwers worked with the Rugby players on conditioning etc.. That is the way forward , create the Super multi disciplined Clubs, well funded and driven by a common goal to be the best in the UK.

Time that all these local clubs in different sports actually sat down and worked out that by combining they could get better funding, facilities and that as a multi-disciplined Club would attract more youngsters into sport- all sports.

11/08/2006 Just going to bed after a long evening updating the site- been OK day. Then I read this on UKA site "Rhys Williams (Cardiff AAC) produced a wonderful run to make the podium in the 400m hurdles. Then Becky Lyne (Hallamshire Harriers) did the same in the 800m before Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva) stormed home to celebrate glory in the 200m".Ahem Glory in a bronze for Devonish in the 200m. Me thinks that Becky Lyne and Rhys Williams did well. But Devonish "glory"- they must be joking. OK a medal, but not glorious for an athlete who was part of the Olympic Gold relay squad.

11/08/2006 Just had a look at Dwayne' site(see above)- good reading from an articulate athlete- check it out- and he has not emailed me for months !

If anyone wants me to add their "blog" site email me- if it is interesting I will add.

10/08/2006 From Scottish Athletics "This weekend sees the staging of the Sunday Mail Senior Championships at Scotstoun, Glasgow. One of the highlights of the domestic year, athletes will be chasing the title of 'Scottish Champion', national medals, finals places and personal and seasonal best performances at the fiercely competitive championships.As well as Scottish internationals such as Susan Deacon, Andrew Lemoncello, Darren Ritchie and many more, spectators can also look forward to seeing top internationals Allan Webb (USA), James Beckford (Jamaica) and Merlene Ottey (Slovenia) in action.

10/08/2006 Away from competitions I have been puzzling over the 300m race. Why does it happen- it is a strange event, that drops out at U20 level. I assume the idea is that young athletes should not do 400m- but they are allowed to run 800m, 1500m etc. So cannot be for that reason. The 300m seems to be an extended 200m, whereas the 400m seems a different sprint altogether. As far as I an see most decent 200m runners can hold it to-g ether for 300m- run decent times. Is their any evidence that a good 300m runner becomes a good 400m runner ? Thoughts on the 400m seem to vary between athletes moving up from 200m to 400m and alternatively dropping down from 800m. I don't know, any emails appreciated. I juts wonder why we have the 300 event.? Why not just have 100m , 200m and 400m ?

10/08/2006 2 good perfomances from Rhys Williams (400H) and Rebecca Lyne (800m) both of whom showed guts and determination to come from behind to win Bronze medals. Devonish also won Bronze. Things have improved slightly- the Welshman looked very good for a Young senior and Becky Lyne continues to shine. Looks as if at least the Younger athletes have come through.

UK Sport not to happy with testing-UK Sport concerned about 'missed tests'

10/08/2006 "Gary Ryan ,one of the all-time great betting sites sprinters, has formally announced his retirement from athletics having competed in the heats of the European Championships in Gothenburg. Gary is captain of the Irish team in Gothenburg.For over 10 years Gary has been part of virtually every major games team and has distinguished himself in the 100 metres , 200 metres, 4×100 metres and 4×400 metres. One of his career highlights was in the latter event where he was part of the Irish team that made history in finishing 3rd at the world indoor championships in Budapest.We wish to sincerely thank Gary for the wonderful moments he afforded us in his long and illustrious career. Gary has also recently been appointed to the critical role of Director of Development for Athletics Ireland. " From athleticsireland website.

10/08/2006 Performance not stats- an interesting article, not about Track and Field, but I found it interesting-Move over Charlie Hustle, we’ve got Andy Hustle

10/08/2006 Indians athletes getting slower

10/08/2006 Zimbabwe pull out of African championship relay

09/08/2006 A short history lesson. "He draw the short straw"- a well know expression. Facts in the Civil War in the 17C a certain General Roland Laugharne swapped side to join the Royalists, was pursued and captured by Cromwell in Pembroke Castle-huge career mistake. Cromwell had the 3 men in prison, and decided to execute one. A small boy was told to go in and invite them to draw straws- the one who drew the shortest was to be executed. Laugharne was lucky. I live in Laugharne, and Laugharne was a distant relative of my wife. So end history lesson.

Who is going to draw the short straw at UKA - because one of them will at least- no execution though, times have changed. Day 3 , still one medal at Euro's. Upbeat BBC see hope in failure-cannot see it myself. Fan of Joyce- but 4th is 4th and not a medal, and this is only the Euro's. 4th is horrible, but when you hear BBC saying Joyce was the best starter in the field- news to me- and would be ahead of Gevaert a 15m- Joyce has never been a great starter to my knowledge. But then according to the BBC everyone did well from poor lane draws,hampered by injury etc. Actually the facts are GB are poor- very poor so far.

Now whether that is due to the athletes or poor admin I will let you decide. But Collin's boot camp mentality has seen a decline in successes- so Collin's should get the short straw. As you can gather I m not a fan- I am really appalled at UKA public assessment of performances and assume this man is behind it- well he must have supported it. A performance(or non-performance)director who oversees this disaster should go. No excuses about athletes injured , development etc . How many Athletes who get castigated publicly will continue. Let the Press critisice, not the Governing body. Some need a kicking I am sure, but not publicly pilloried. Most Athletes I know actually try their best-that is why they do it for little money-if any. Collin's may have forgotten that Athletics is a solo sport- not a team Game. No half time for the manager to get his team to-g ether for a pep talk. Instead they are getting the message- perform or else.

The Japenese commit Hari Kari when found to fail. Presumabably Hari Kari for Collins would involve a huge payoff. But who will be the kaishkunin. Look that one up on the Net.

9/08/2006 Email received "The BBC coverage also manages to wind me up, with constant talk of pbs or athletes not being the best in the world. The world has changed, for a lot of athletes from developing countries sport is a career option to get away from poverty -that is not the case in the UK. We need to alter our approach, make the events more exciting for youngsters and more
rewarding later. For instance, the 2000th best footballer in the UK can still pick up a few hundred pounds a week playing the game. Why would he be tempted into athletics where only the very elite will be financially rewarded."

09/08/2006 Waterford set for Celtic Games

08/08/2006 The Medal Table looks poor so far for GB- UKA should be worried. One silver Medal by a 19 year old who never won a Schools medal. Nothing wrong with that and Rutherford has performed outstandingly well- lets hope UKA do not now wreck him. I have argued over the years that the focus of UKA on the Young Star athletes as been misplaced and they have ignored the so-called second string. I think this has come home to roost. They will of course argue that it is working well, because Rutherford came through the system.Argueably he came through despite the system-but I have no knowledge of support he has received over the years, so cannot comment, but seems that not being a "star" Schools athelete has helped. It throws doubt on the whole "Power of Ten" system, which claims to identify young talent- Rutherford would not have featured highly had the system existed then. What the "Power of Ten" does is show young athletes who might be more physically mature than their fellow athletes. I am sure that several U17 sprinters are as mature physically as Seniors- so the question is will the performances they are achieveing be improved on ? Only time will tell.

Davd Collins will no doubt be feeling the heat. An ex-Royal Marine he grew up in a culture where failure was dangerous- could cause death. So a pretty brutal culture to whip soldiers( or marines) into a tight unit. Doubt the failings were Public ( as per the Internet) but I am sure Marines were made aware of thier failings in front of their colleagues- the nature of any Special Force where the results of failings are potentally terminal. This culture know seems to be invading athletics, where athletes are being publicy denounced for their performance.British athletes are to be given marks out of 10 by team bosses for their performances - and have the results given out to the public.

This is humiliating for the athletes. They are all well aware of if they have performed well or badly- a 13 year old know this. Athletics is simple, all about performance- and every athlete I know from the age of 9 knows their PB- so they know if they have done alright. Obviously no-one gets a PB everytime, but athletes know if they have performed well or badly on the day. No need to be publicly embarrassed- a quite chat is the correct way to do it. What youngster would go into a sport where the risks are now not only not doing as well as you hoped, but also be publicly exposed as a failure and let the team down.

This culture needs to be stopped -now. The UKA needs to look at the whole structure of the sport and drop the Power of Ten at once- a bad idea, poorer because athletes are complaining thier results are not in the figures anyway- so it is failing on two accounts.

The "Boot Camp " strategy of Collins needs to be stopped at once- it is unacceptable. Funded athletes need to be accountable, and maybe Sotherton should be the first to be hauled over the coals- she knew JT was weak- but seems to have done nothing about it- there are many 16 year olds who can throw 27m, and not JT specialists- doing CE. And that is weak. Sotheron should have been working on this rather than her spat with Jade Johnson in the LJ. I could go on all night- Dean Macey. bless him, talks the talk, butI have only seen him compete 2 times in 4 years- great when fit, but this is a rare event.

When athletes miss drug tests- 70 according to UKA PR and one 3 in succession, you have to wonder if the UKA is is so in awe of the chosen that they are letting them away with things. Ohuruogu has left her self therefore very exposed. She is an elite athlete and knows the score. An athlete would have realised the gravity of her situation and surely made herself available- made sure she was tested. Sounds like the Greeks, and I am afraid I think she should suffer the full consequences - a harsh lesson, but these elite - paid by us ultimately- need to buckle down and play the game. They cannot have it both ways- take the cash and prestige and ignore the rules. She should therefore expect to be banned- we would be crying out if a foreign athlete did the same

One medal so far- I hope David Collins has a good head hunter working for him- I think he will need it by the end of the week... As will a few more who have overseen this dramatic decline in UK athletics.

08/08/2006 AAA results now available. Ryan Stewart won the Javelin with a new Scottish record of 54.63m. 8th on the all time list. He has added over 4 metres to the record over the year with a few more opportunities. Not old enough for Schools Games in Glasgow, despite being best U17 in Scotland. Wales have had to drop an athlete who was in U15 age group. What a silly rule- U17 should mean not older than U17 , not must be in the U17 age group. We wonder why we are doing so well in Europe (sic).

The Euros have started as expected. and the only stars are the womens multi eventers- several PB's etc. Seems to be the pattern at the moment. All coments on Chambers re drugs and should he be competing- what about Carl Myerscough- also banned from Olympics . Who performed pretty badly.

/08/2006 Kunkel collects fourth victory in men's 400 hurdles at Canadian championships

06/08/2006 Strange not to have been at the AAA17/15. First one we have missed for a while, but thats life. Two Welsh Athletes got Silver medals- Caryl Granville 30oH and Hannah Jones 300m flat. Well done to them.

06/08/2006 IAAF Chief Urges 4-Year Doping Bans

6/08/2006 Norways top Sprinter faces life ban after testing poistive fr the 3rd time

05/08/2006 NextWeek End sees the annual U18/16 CelticGames. Teams from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and NI will compete in what is for many their first International Vest. Good Luck to all of them, I am sure they will enjoy the Weekend.

05/08/2006 Fraudster athletes must be hit hard- a view from NZ

05/08/2006 Liu Xiang 'could race even faster'

04/08/2006 Promising British sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey has severed his ties with controversial coach Trevor Graham.

What the hell was he doing out there anway- talended Young athlete, but not NO 1 in the UK, so can hardly say no competion over here. Why would firstly Gatlin try and help him as hopefully they would have been head to Head in a few years- and why did his coach and UKA even think this was half sensible. Why go to USA, an unhappy training ground for UK sprinters.And to a coach who had a few athletes test positve over the years .I have said this before, but funded athletes should remain in the UK under supervision of UKA.

04/08/2006 So not all my ideas over the years are crack-pot " UK Athletics has appointed four athlete mentors to assist current senior and junior athletes in their long term preparations for major championships and their lives as professional athletes.Double Olympic Champion Daley Thompson and Olympic Bronze Medallist Katharine Merry will work with Britain’s junior talent, whilst Olympic 100m Champion Linford Christie and Olympic Silver Medallist Steve Backley will work primarily in a coaching support capacity for senior athletes." See UK Athletics for full story. Darren Cambell is going to Bejing to see how the mentor process goes on.

OK claim no credit, but 3 out of is not bad- and the idea is solid. Think I first floated the idea 2 years ago - do they read my site(UKathletics) doubt it , it was pretty obvious.

If you are wondering why I have some many news items from all over the World suddenly- I will explain. We need to be more aware of what is going on in the World of Athletics and I have such a sad life I just surf the Net all day and Night-well latter not true I have a monitoring system, but thats a secret.

04/08/2006 Halton on track for new facility

04/08/2006 Junkies aid decline of track and field
By Sebastian Coe

04/08/2006 Belfast's little big games

04/08/2006 Business to be Turned off by Drug Scandals

04/08/2006 Athletes audition for Rio, Beijing

04/08/2006 "When an U17 athlete becomes partially successful everyone wants a bit, conclusion too many cooks, better for the coach who brought them to this stage to decide time to move on instead of novice coaches, chairman pretending they know best. Where were these people when the the athlete was starting out ,simple, they did not know enough to take them on, so the answer is not to criticise but like you have suggested many times an academy with the coaches of athletes working together on a regular basis, take athletes from rankings(power of 10) and decide where and when they should compete instead of week in/out in every league going just to higher the profile of clubs." A reply from Wales.

04/08/2006 Lane posts world record at USA Masters Championships

04/08/2006 Team USA vs. Germany at 2006 Nike Combined Events Challenge

04/08/2006 Joint Statement from Athletics Australia and Athletics Victoria

03/08/2006 Great quote from MLF ""It's the first time I've trained so hard in my whole life so obviously (his comments-Regis) are not making British sprinters look good at all." So what has he been doing for the last few years- .

03/08/2006 The US Olympic Committee has banned Graham(Gatlin's Coach) from its training centres and sites.USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said the ban was permanent but added: "If there's something that convinces us to change our position, we'll look at it." In addition Organisers of next month's Berlin Golden League meeting have banned athletes trained by Justin Gatlin's coach Trevor Graham from taking part- including Marion Jones and Shawn Cawford. See BBC for full story

03/08/2006 Athletics: Why lack of Commonwealth Games medal success could prove costly for Welsh athletics.

03/08/2006 Welsh Athletics: We can still deliver, insists Brace

Welsh Athletis has had a battering in the Welsh Press to-day. Not all fair. The Sports Council in Wales seem to be interfering in the election of the CE position for Welsh Athletics- arguably not their role-they are funders not controllers. OK the Council should carefully allocate funding. Athletics is still a big sport in Wales and there are some talented Youngsters coming through. Boxing may have successes, but I doubt they have the nuers athletics have-and a Sport that really should be questioned in my opinion- are we still so basic that we want to see People hitting each other and trying to hurt them- but that is a seperate issue.

Welsh Athletics needs to take a gamble. If an International is coming up take the best- irrespective of age group. If it means taking a 15 or 16 yr old for the relay, or an individual event then do it. Most of the younsters have numeros Welsh Junior vests- they compete at the AAA, they know the score. OK adds a bit of cost, but rathr than making up a relay squad, use the yonger athletes and give them experience- that way I am sure he athletes will rmain intersted and comited. Te ne thig that mst be said about most Welsh athetes are that they are very proud-Wales is a proud Natin. Suport the youngsters and I am sure that then they will continue in the sport. The biggest problem a small Nation faces is the drop out at Senior and U20 level.

I obviously follow Wesh athletics closely. The recent past has been dominated by "Young Stars " been jumped on and like Athletics in the UK this as normally gone pear shaped. Time to stop pickin the 15/16 year olds as the "Future Stars" encourage all of the athletes who show promise and enthusiasm. Who was the one person who spotted Linford Christie as Olympic Champion when he was 16 years old.? Or spotted Paula Radcliffe as one of the ong distance greats. So the lessons that should be learnt never are, and Emily Pidgeon's conections think she is the best ever, but maybe in a few years some-one out there will emerge. Happens in Wales as well, so they should be careful in assuming that the current crop of well performing athletes, will be the ones who go on to Senior sucess. One or two could get to GB level, but there is still a mountain to climb to World medals- few do it and over encoraging young athletes to believe they will do it is a falicy.

History is a great subject- when studied correctly. Napoleon would not have attacked Russia, Hitler would not have repeated the same mistake. So athletics needs to look back, think and work out what went right and where they are going wrong.

In summary the Welsh Sports Council should stop the nonsense that is going on, confirm the tireless Steve Brace as CE- who not only runs Welsh Athletics but can be seen putting banners up at meetings due to staff shortages, give WAA the money and support to enable him to run WAA and develop the talent, let him be able to send a Youth Comonweath team to Delhi, and hopefully then we will see other Welsh athletes contribute to GB success.

03/08/2006 Irelands records in European in Champs

02/08/2006 Emily Pidgeon:"Her parents and coach, who are locked in a bitter dispute with UKA, want her to travel independently to Beijing, instead of preparing with the GB team in Macau. A camp has been established there as part of a strategy geared to next year's senior world event in Osaka and the 2008 Olympics. "Attendance [at the Macau camp] is an expectation of team selection," said a UKA statement."

I side with UKA on this instance. Selection is an honour and comes with requirements. No Athlete should be allowed to dictate terms to UKA- If you do not like them campaign as a group. The Pidgeon Coach/Parent row with UKA has been going on for so long it is dull. The Girl has lost the chance to be a World Junior Champion- she mut be confused as to what is going on. A strong arguement for Parents to keep out of the sport. The Sport is bigger than the individual it has to be, because otherwise the sport loses all credibility. Athletes have to go to the camp- just as less well known athletes have to attend the smaller Internationals they are selected for on the schedule laid down by the selectors and Team managers-Emily has to do the same for Celtic Games, but why would she complain- a great honour to be selected and not an issue- why should it be.?

Given all the drug related issues at the moment it is time Athletics bodies enforced more rules and work more closely with coaches. Why Pidgeon thinks she is so special is beyond me. I heard her saying her aim recently was the European Champs not World Juniors- well that was a dream, lapped or just about at the trials . Did they really think she stood a chance?. And now blown a good chance to be a World Champ. So end of season report not to good. And the future must look poor. No one likes tricky athletes in any sport- so her family/coach will have to look at doing a Kerry Packer- (if you remember the cricket rebels). But the impresssion I get is this about money and Pidgeon trying to dictate terms. Sorry Luv, but too soon and too young. Forget the crap and get out there and perform.

Oher sports do the same- selected you train, attend meetings etc- or else dropped. Pidgeon's contacts may find they have a talented athlete who will never get selected.

02/08/2006 Pidgeon’s world-title hopes shot down by athletics selectors

02/08/2006 Kenya gear up for African athletics championships

02/08/2006 Athletics: Sprinters To Go The Distance At 300

02/08/2006 Matthew Syed wrote an interesting article in the Times yesterday. I think on the whole is right. But his conclusion in my opinion is wrong. He thinks Seb Coe "Lord Coe" is the man to sort out UKA. I am cynical I am afraid that I think Coe, is engineering a lot in the press- attacks on Linford Christie etc and now getting the Times to suggest he is the Messiah who can save UKA. Coe would not appear to have the talents to save UKA. A great athlete, and one time politician he is good at the spin and did well getting the Olympics to London. But I am not aware that he is a businessman. The CE of UKA should be a businessman, does not need to be an athlete- acutely probably should not be. So look at the list of major companies COE retiring soon and see if they can be tempted. What UKA needs is a Corporate man who can work with the Hitman, Collins, and sort out the mess UKA is in. Then we might have a solution. But inflating Coe's ego further is not the way forward, we have enough ex-sport stars who have managed to run Athletics into the ground. And after the Europeans next week I fear we will have hit rock bottom- if we get a single Gold I will be delighted- and I suspect UKA will be as well. The only reasonable banker was likely to be Malcolm but yet again his body has failed him.

A failure to get any serious medals should lead to the resignation of all involved at the decision making level within UKA. Expensive iniatives such as the Schools Games and the Power of 10 (which get so many complaints about due to slowness of updates of performances) seem to show a desperation , where cash is been thrown randomly at Ideas- not the structure. They will argue Schools Olympics is doing that, but it will only be as good as the Athletes coming through.

Sadly Emily as decided to withdraw from U17 AAA , so will miss for the first time, she had Tonsillitis last week and has decided to miss the Champs to focus on the Celtic Games and Schools Games- tough call as she loves the AAA and seeing the various friends she meets at these Champs- one of the great things about the AAA is the athletes meet other Athletes they do not normally see and make friends. But sensible , representing your country is more important than risking a further problem.

01/08/2006 And can it get worse "Hungary's top sprinter Gabor Dobos is the latest sportsman to test positive for raised levels of testosterone.The Hungarian Athletics Association said if his B sample is also positive, Dobos, 30, will get a life ban after a two-year drugs suspension in 2000.He has been withdrawn from this month's European Championships in Sweden along with Hungary's 4x100m relay team.Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin and Tour de France winner Floyd Landis have also recorded high testosterone levels.Both men are awaiting the results of tests on their B samples, with Landis expected to discover his on Saturday.The male sex hormone helps recovery after exercise and increases energy and strength" From BBC.

I think my views below are becoming increasingly relevant

31/07/2006 Gatlin's positive test is probably the final straw for the good name of sprints. The guy had already failed a test, trained with a Coach who has been involved with previous athletes who have failed drug tests. Enough is enough, and Paula Radcliffe can say that it is part of the process etc of weeding out drug cheats- but this has gone on for too long. Questions will now be asked of many athletes now performing surpisingly well. All I can think is a radical new approach.

I suggest in future all Athletes must have a recognised Primary coach and they both sign agreements agreeing not to cheat-if a positive test the athlete is banned and the coach suspended-for the length of the ban. If a second athlete fails a test the coach is banned for life. The Athletics bodies for Country of the athlete's found positive should be fined. I am not suggesting that the Athletics bodies are condoning cheating, but it is not being eradicted- time everyone in the sport was made responsible. Lets make the onus on all involved in Sport-Coaches and the Governing bodies-to be held responsible if an athlete cheats.The fines used to develop Drug testing independent of the National Athletics body. The same should apply to all sports- athletics is a high profile sport for drug's, but probably not the worst in terms of drug use.

30/7/2006 Junior and European teams on UK Athletics website