CHILDISH TANTRUMS ON THE TRACK

Whenever a local sportsman does well on an international stage it always brings a feeling of happiness and pride. Well do I remember the joy of Brian Lara’s world record breaking score of 375 in international cricket. Well do I remember Ato Boldon sprinting to victory and before him Hasely Crawford. It is such a joy, such a pleasure in a world where so much that happens is so sad. Darrel Brown’s silver medal at the World Athletics Championship in France on Monday proves that this country can produce an athlete who can compete against the best in the world. And win! We can boast of his accomplishment especially since most of his training was done at home where the facilities and level of coaching can hardly be considered of the highest standard.

Ato Boldon, who has done his country proud and can boast of his own achievements, on Monday failed to make it past the semi-final round. One wonders if his association with the highly famed American sports management firm, HSI, of which Jon Drummond is also a member, is beginning to have any impact on him of late. Now I don’t know much about track and field rules and depend only on my own response to fair play and appropriate behaviour but seeing the American sprinter, Jon Drummond’s display of unsportsman like conduct in his quarter-finals heat on Saturday, was to me confirmation of my long held view that Americans believe they are a law unto themselves and can do as they please anywhere or anytime. Once you drape yourself in an American flag you become monarch of all you survey.

Drummond refused to leave the track following his disqualification and, believe it or not, his coach ran onto the track to advise him not to accept his disqualification! It showed how much the Americans believe they are God’s gift to the world and that nobody can tell them differently. Drummond’s lie-down protest on the track was improper, unsporting and brought the sport of athletics into disrepute. He lay on his back on the track, argued with officials and gestured to the crowd in an angry, tearful tirade which threw the schedule into chaos for nearly an hour. Would any other athlete from any other country get away with such behaviour? And what was this performance by Drummond all about? A good friend kindly provided me with the rules. The IAAF rules state that any person breaching the rules or other conduct which is considered to be insulting or improper or likely to bring the sport into disrepute will be subject to disciplinary action. Specifically a new rule states that if there is a second false start in a race, the one who is responsible is disqualified. Jon Drummond was responsible for the second false start and was disqualified. The fact that such a rule is unfair, is not the point.

After winning his heat, Ato charged that the new IAAF false start rule would not work and he and other athletes had been protesting the rule claiming that athletes would suffer. He claimed that the same thing they warned about was happening, for example the Drummond disqualification and its aftermath. He is correct. The IAAF has to find another way to deal with the problem of false starts. If eight athletes are on the mark ready to go and one causes a false start, he is not penalised and the runners return to the block. Under the new rule, if the runners line up a second time and there is a false start, the second runner is penalised. Is that fair? It is not. The experts argue, and I believe them, that false starts throw the runners off balance. It affects their concentration, the spring and tension in their bodies, so false starts are a no-no. But is the answer to penalise the second runner who is responsible while the first one gets away free? I don’t think so. Having said that, however, those who line up, do so in the knowledge that they know and understand the rules. If they do not, then they should be at home or sitting in the stands.

Among those critical of Drummond’s conduct was Michael Johnson, the retired multiple Olympic and world champion and world record holder in the 200 and 400 metres. Clearly he agrees with the new rule. “The IAAF should be stricter in applying its new rule on false starts,” he said in his column in the French sports daily L’Equipe. “As an American, he said he was embarrassed by Drummond’s behaviour.” He should be. IAAF Council member Jose Maria Odriozola, president of the Spanish federation, sharply criticised Drummond and his California-based HSI team. He spoke for me when he said, “there’s a small group of athletes in California who think anything goes and that they can do whatever they like,” Odriozola said. “We cannot put up with this. I have proposed to the council that Drummond be excluded from the World Championships and I think there’s a good chance that will happen.” The USA Track and Field (USATF) opposed the introduction of the new false-start rule when it was approved by the IAAF in 2001. The rule went into effect this year. If athletes believe the rule to be bad, they must campaign for its revocation not engage in childish tantrums on the track.
jstarr@newsday.co.tt