HERE’S THIS MONTH’S collection of short takes on generally off-track activities that have gone/will go a long way towards shaping the way the sport is headed.
Whither The ’28 Trials?
With growing sentiment in some quarters that the LA selection meet be held on the same track that will host the Olympic Games, USATF’s Max Siegel has indicated the organization is not closing the door on moving the Trials from Eugene. But don’t hold your breath on this one.
“It’s difficult to find a partner that is as collaborative, knowledgeable and [has] a fan base that supports the sport as Eugene,” he said at a press conference with LA ’28 CEO Casey Wasserman. “We all understand the logistical challenges. But if you look at the financial support that the federation has given, with coaches travel and athlete travel. We’ve tried to offset that. It is one of our priorities to make sure that we move the sport around across the country.”
He added that having the Trials somewhere other than Eugene could pose problems. “The operational stress is probably going to take away from the athletes. That’s not my decision to make but that would be my concern — that we can’t give them, for what is essentially a 10-day event here, the right environment and the right clarity and the right simplicity to compete to make their Olympic team.”
Siegel did note that bids will be accepted for the Trials, as usual, “So it is not a foregone conclusion that it will be back here in Eugene.”
Knighton’s Absence Explained
After an end-of-March meet 2-time World 200 medalist Erriyon Knighton went MIA. Now we know why. Rather than an injury, it was legal proceedings that were keeping the 20-year-old off the track. Knighton tested positive for Trenbolone during an out-of-competition test that month and was provisionally suspended on April 12.
Knighton requested an expedited hearing and the case went to an arbitration panel, which cleared him to compete in time for the Trials. Knighton had argued that the Trenbolone (the same substance as in the Jarrion Lawson case several years ago) had gotten into his system from a restaurant meal that included oxtail. Knighton’s lawyer said that USADA obtained oxtail samples from the same supplier and found Trenbolone present.
USADA’s Travis Tygart says that his organization pursued a “robust investigation.”
WADA and the AIU still have the right to appeal the panel’s finding. Said WADA rep James Fitzgerald, “As it always does, WADA will review this case and reserves the right to take an appeal to [CAS], as appropriate.”
Asinga Also Goes Contamination Route
Not going down without a fight, Issam Asinga has sued Gatorade in federal court, charging that the company is ultimately responsible for his ban from the sport.
The teen sprinting sensation, who last year ran what was heralded as a World Junior Record and High School Record 9.89 in the 100, along with a HSR 19.97 at 200, says that his DQ stems from contaminated gummies that Gatorade produced.
In May he received a 4-year ban after his positive test for GW1516, an experimental chemical that is banned by WADA as a metabolic modulator. Asinga and his lawyers say the substance was in the Gatorade Recovery Gummies that were in a gift basket the company gave him when he was honored as its track & field athlete of the year.
Asinga tried to provide the AIU with a sealed bottle of gummies from the same lot. Gatorade, though required to keep samples of each lot, said they were unavailable due to manufacturing issues. He was only able to provide AIU with an unsealed bottle, which tested positive for GW1516. According to the lab findings, “it was not possible to rule out deliberate adulteration… after it was opened.” That proved to be a crucial point in the AIU decision.
According to the lawsuit, Asinga is seeking to “recoup the millions of dollars he has lost in economic opportunities, as well as compensation for the devastating emotional harm he has suffered.”
Coe To Succeed Bach At IOC?
With Thomas Bach’s second term coming to an end next year, speculation has ramped up that one of the people angling to lead the Olympic movement may be WA head Seb Coe. Bach is currently facing mandatory retirement due to term limits, though some in the IOC have suggested amending the Olympic Charter to give him a longer stay in power at the Lausanne headquarters.
When asked about his plans recently, Coe stayed mum, remarking, “Look, I think there’s a huge deal of uncertainty about what is happening in Lausanne at the moment.”
He added that some of the recent decisions at World Athletics, such as the hardline stance against Russian and Belarusian athletes and prize money for gold medalists, were not unilateral moves on the global sports chessboard.
“They are not individual long runs for hope,” he said. “You know, I have a Council. One thing about our sport it is properly governed. It’s probably better governed than any sport out there. Both those decisions that we made were unanimously supported and in part co-created by a very active Council.”
He attributes much to the fact that the WA Council is gender-balanced and has a strong representation from former athletes. “Already you can see that the quality of the discussion and the subsequent decision is at a higher level than it’s ever been on that Council.”
Morales Williams Turns Pro
Not such a surprise that he would do so after a banner collegiate season at 400, but Georgia’s Christopher Morales Williams has opted to go pro. The Canadian 19-year-old announced his signing with adidas just hours before his Diamond League debut in Monaco.
His soph year with the Bulldogs saw Morales Williams emerge as a world class contender, running an indoor world best 44.49 to win the SEC meet, followed by an NCAA Indoor win in 44.67, the SEC Outdoor in a PR 44.05 and the NCAA Outdoor in 44.47.
“Only last year,” he said, “I didn’t even think I could be good enough to go to a [Div. I] school or ever be a pro. I never thought I could be this good.”
Big Prize Money In New NYC Meet
The new women’s meet announced in April by entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian as the 776 Invitational now has another name, Athlos, and will take place in New York’s Icahn Stadium on September 26.
Heralded as the biggest single purse ever for a women’s meet, Athlos will feature $110,500 per event in prize money, with $60,000 going to the winners. In addition, 10% of the revenues will be distributed to the athletes on top of the prize money.
The participation of Gabby Thomas was part of the initial rollout. Since then, Alexis Holmes, Lieke Klaver and Faith Kipyegon are among those who have been announced.
The meet will feature 6 women’s races but no field events: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 100H. A total of 36 athletes will compete. A DJ will be featured and each athlete will get their own walk-out song. Ohanian says one of the goals is to not just show the athletes on the track, “but also really get to know them as individuals.”
Pound’s Warning For The U.S.
Not everyone is happy that the U.S. Justice Department is leading a criminal investigation of WADA’s dismissal of positive drug tests for 23 Chinese swimmers. Canada’s Dick Pound, the former IOC member who was instrumental in setting up WADA, says the U.S. is at risk of being booted as host of the ’28 Olympics and also the ’34 Winter Games.
The Justice Department investigation, spurred on by a congressional committee, is being undertaken under the auspices of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. According to Pound, that legislation is “non-compliant with [WADA’s] anti-doping code.”
He added, “My guess is that one of the steps that WADA is going to take at this point is to turn this particular issue over to the compliance review committee. Which I suspect, if or when there’s a hearing on it, they will declare the United States non-compliant. It would mean they could not host the Olympics.”
With contracts already signed for Los Angeles, Pound admitted the chances of the ’28 Games moving were slim, but he said that the final confirmation of the ’34 Winter Games in Salt Lake City might be delayed over the issue.
Colorado Coaching Staff Shakeup
In the wake of an investigation into body-composition testing that had been a feature of the Buffaloes program Colorado declined to renew the contract of longtime coaches Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs. Also dismissed was recruiting coordinator/assistant coach Shaun Wicen.
According to an e-mail from AD Rick George, “In over 30 years, Mark Wetmore has built one of the country’s premier cross country programs and is an institution within the cross country and track & field communities. At this point, however, I felt it was time for a new era of leadership for our programs.”
Nearly 50 former and current athletes were interviewed as part of the investigation, along with a dozen staff members. Last year the report concluded the body composition tests “negatively impacted a significant number of student athletes” and created an “unhealthy” environment.
Wetmore, who guided the Buffs to 8 NCAA team titles in cross country, made no public comment. ◻︎
