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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/4155410.stm
Connor hits out at British system
By Simon Austin
Connor took triple jump bronze at the 1984 Olympics
The former head of athletics in Australia has hit out at the structure of British athletics following the poor performance of Team GB in Helsinki.
Keith Connor, who won Olympic bronze for Britain in 1984, said: "We’re still doing things like we did in the 1960s.
"Too often a local coach will chance upon a talented youngster and stay with him through his career, despite not having coached top athletes before.
“The club system relies on volunteers, and that system’s falling apart.”
UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins has already vowed to make changes after Britain suffered its worst ever performance at a world championships.
Connor, who was snubbed for the UKA performance director job, admitted: “Our performances, our preparations and a lot of the things we do are generically unacceptable.”
Britain doesn’t have the same level of pressure and competition as the US
Keith Connor
Connor, who won triple jump bronze at the 1984 Olympics and was also European and Commonwealth champion, says British athletics must learn from the American model.
The USA team dominated competition in Helsinki, winning twice as many gold medals as any other nation.
“The Americans know how to compete,” Connor told BBC Sport.
"At the US trials, you’ll probably have to beat a world or Olympic champion if you’re to make the team.
"In the US, there are 52 states and each one has at least two universities. Each has a track and field programme, with 25 athletes. You only progress if you’re the cream of the crop.
"Britain has nothing in comparison. The Grand Prix circuit doesn’t provide the same level of pressure and competition.
“If you fail at one meeting, there’s another two weeks later where you can make up for it.”
Several British athletes have been accused of underperforming at the Worlds, particularly Nathan Douglas and Mark Lewis-Francis.
Feature: Where has it gone wrong for British athletics?
Douglas failed to make the 12-man final of the triple jump despite being ranked third in the world this year, and failed to jump to within a metre of his personal best.
Lewis-Francis, world junior champion in 2000, went out of the 100m at the quarter-final stage.
“The triple jump was a fantastic example of the difference in systems between the US and UK,” said Connor, who narrowly missed out on the job of UK performance director last year.
"A US athlete has been through that type of intense competition every year at the NCAA Championship and the US trials.
“Douglas had only previously been to one World Championship.”
Connor backs the comments of double Olympic 1500m gold medallist Sebastian Coe, who has criticised the standard of coaching in the UK.
“You need professional coaches who are working with top athletes all the time,” said Connor.
"This kind of coach will be able to take a 16-year-old who can run 10.35 seconds for the 100m, and know how to make him run faster.
"With the talent pool we clearly have out there, there is an opportunity to create champions at the 2012 Olympics.
“So we need to go out and get as many 16 to 18-year-olds as you can. But if we sit back and wait for them to come through, we won’t do well.”