Fairweather unloads on Aussie Games selectors: Coach livid after sprinter misses Delhi cut
BY JOSH LEESON
20 Apr, 2010 04:00 AM
MAITLAND coach Tony Fairweather is “disgusted” that Athletics Australia have not selected a women’s 4x100-metre relay team for the Commonwealth Games, robbing his protege Laura Whaler of a chance to represent her country.
AA announced yesterday a squad of 69 athletes to compete in Delhi after the weekend’s selection trials in Perth.
Maitland’s Whaler, 22, was expected to be a chance in the individual 100m, and at worst make the 4x100m relay team, after she recorded her second B-qualifying time and finished second in the trials over the weekend.
But AA have scrapped the women’s 4x100 relay team, saying it would not be competitive enough.
Whaler’s stablemate Pirrenee Steinert also missed out on an individual berth in the women’s 400m, but has been selected in the 4x400m relay team.
Fairweather said AA’s decision to not field a 4x100m relay team was baffling, as Delhi would have been an ideal time to develop athletes for the 2012 London Olympics.
“I’m sure it’s not going to end here because I think Athletics Australia should be embarrassed about the way they’ve gone about this,” Fairweather said.
"It’s double standards because of the way they’ve selected other relay teams.
"Five girls they could have selected could have been developed for next year’s world championships and the big picture is the Olympic Games in London.
"At the moment if I was one of these girls and someone offered me to go to another sport I wouldn’t hesitate after the way they treat you.
“For me, I’m just disgusted.”
AA chairman of selectors Peter Fitzgerald said the decision was made due to a lack of quality.
“On the basis of the athletes available for selection in that team, we didn’t think we were able to put together a team that was going to be competitive,” Fitzgerald said.
Canberra’s Melissa Breen was the only woman to set an A-qualifier time in the 100m, which guaranteed her selection in the individual event.
Fitzgerald admitted that Whaler and Breen’s relay hopes were hampered by a lack of quality teammates.
“Had we had another couple [of athletes] we believed were of that standard [we could have selected a relay team],” he said.
Whaler still has until August 16 to run an A-qualifier of 11.35 seconds for the 100m individual event, but will be forced to achieve the time overseas.
Steinert was relieved yesterday to be named in the 4x400m relay team after seeing Whaler miss out.
“When they did announce the team I thought they would announce a bigger number so when you heard others had missed out and probably had a good shot, it made you feel really lucky to have your position on the team,” Steinert said.
The Adelaide-born Rutherford resident made her Australian representative debut at last year’s world championships in Berlin as part of the 4x400 metres relay team.
She is now planning to compete overseas during the winter in an attempt to secure an A-qualifier time before the August 16.
“That’s definitely achievable so I’m not ruling that out yet,” she said.
Melbourne-based Novocastrian Benn Harradine was selected for his second Commonwealth Games in the discus.
The man mountain was a finalist at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Merewether’s world wheelchair road race champion Christie Dawes qualified for the disabled women’s 1500m, two-time Paralympian and five-time world champion Kurt Fearnley will contest the men’s 1500m and Port Stephens amputee Heath Francis was selected in the disabled men’s 100m.
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