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JAAA changes mind on Powell, teammates
BERLIN, Germany — IAAF secretary general Pierre Weiss says Jamaica has withdrawn its request to ban sprint star Asafa Powell and several teammates from the athletics world championships.
Weiss says the IAAF has put pressure on the federation to change its mind because the exclusion of the six prominent athletes would reflect badly on the championship itself.
Weiss said Wednesday that "we asked Jamaica to reconsider in the interest of sport."
The Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) had asked the IAAF to withdraw Asafa Powell, a former 100-metre world-record holder, and five teammates earlier today from the entry list in an apparent dispute over training camp attendance.
The other athletes are 100 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser, 400 hurdles Olympic gold medalist Melaine Walker, hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton, sprinter Shericka Williams and 400 runner Kaliese Spence.
The final entry list has to be with organisers 48 hours before the opening event. The worlds start Saturday in Berlin, and the withdrawals will only become official at midday tomorrow.
Any such pullout would seriously undermine Jamaica's chances of maintaining its domination over the United States in the sprint events that it established at last year's Beijing Olympics.
After capturing five of six sprint events in Beijing with the US winless, Jamaica's rise had been expected to be a key theme at the worlds.
Even though three-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt is not directly affected by the decision, a sprint relay team without Powell would expected to be weaker. Powell ran the anchor leg in Beijing as Jamaica set a world record, one of three for Bolt at the games.
The Jamaican federation had also asked the IAAF to ban the withdrawn runners from the athletes village.
Earlier this week, JAAA president Howard Aris warned the athletes that they would miss the worlds unless they appear at a training camp outside Berlin.
Weiss says the IAAF has put pressure on the federation to change its mind because the exclusion of the six prominent athletes would reflect badly on the championship itself.
Weiss said Wednesday that "we asked Jamaica to reconsider in the interest of sport."
The Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) had asked the IAAF to withdraw Asafa Powell, a former 100-metre world-record holder, and five teammates earlier today from the entry list in an apparent dispute over training camp attendance.
The other athletes are 100 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser, 400 hurdles Olympic gold medalist Melaine Walker, hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton, sprinter Shericka Williams and 400 runner Kaliese Spence.
The final entry list has to be with organisers 48 hours before the opening event. The worlds start Saturday in Berlin, and the withdrawals will only become official at midday tomorrow.
Any such pullout would seriously undermine Jamaica's chances of maintaining its domination over the United States in the sprint events that it established at last year's Beijing Olympics.
After capturing five of six sprint events in Beijing with the US winless, Jamaica's rise had been expected to be a key theme at the worlds.
Even though three-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt is not directly affected by the decision, a sprint relay team without Powell would expected to be weaker. Powell ran the anchor leg in Beijing as Jamaica set a world record, one of three for Bolt at the games.
The Jamaican federation had also asked the IAAF to ban the withdrawn runners from the athletes village.
Earlier this week, JAAA president Howard Aris warned the athletes that they would miss the worlds unless they appear at a training camp outside Berlin.