Australia 100m Mens Race Unrepresented in Beijing Olympics
Australia faces a decided lack of representation in the Beijing Olympics men's sprint division. What's more, there's quite a bit of uncertainty regarding the 2 x 100m relay team. The lack of representation had been brought to light by sprint star Matt Shirvington, when he accused Athletics Australia coaches of lacking in terms of encouragement and assistance when it came to the Beijing Olympics final countdown.
There is however, a last attempt to form an Olympic 4 x 100m qualifying time at the Osaka Grand Prix on May 10, although the constitution of that squad is not confirmed until the last week of April.
Matt Shirvington is still hoping to run in the individual 100m in Beijing, although his chances suffered quite a blow in last month's Olympic trials in Brisbane last month. Even national record holder and fellow athlete Patrick Johnson is having difficulties. The two of them were beaten by a little-known Otis Gowa, and it was quite a letdown.
Shirvington says that the Australian candidates are currently in limbo, and are not getting much support from Athletics Australia. Sure, they provided finances, but they did not provide a more important thing, which is encouragement. Shirvington and co feel left out in the cold without anyone bothering to support them.
The 29-year old athlete also thinks that Austrlian track and field scene will suffer, should the country be unrepresented in the men's 100m and 200m in the Beijing Olympics-- a first since 1980. No sprinters mean no kids watching on tv, means no inspiration and aspiration for those young kids. He also says that a lot of athletes had already informed him of their own concerns regarding the lack of feedback from the Australian Athletics coaching staff. It's as if they simply presented the team and went their own way.
On the other hand, AA high performance director Max Binnington had said that he had spoken to Shirvington twice already about the decisions regarding the men's relay. Binnington thinks that Matt's frustration stems from how the AA didn't tell him to go chase an individual time for them to pick, though he corrects that the AA had said it to everyone. While painful to consider, the chances of getting represented is quite low, as none of the sprinters have shown that they were in any shape to warrant a spot in the individual 100m in the Olympic team. The relay team, on the other hand, is another matter altogether.
