Melaine Walker 400m Hurdles (Gold - Championship Record)
Nice hurdles double for MVP
It’s interesting to note that the MVP sprinter who did attend the JAAA camp (Frater) was also the one who underperformed. He was eliminated in the semifinals running 10.14. It would be interesting to find out what they made him do during this camp.
Why do you suppose Franno was so adament that MVP stay away?
I imagine Franno told him to stay clear but he was too afraid to stay out because of his weaker status.
He also weakened Franno’s position by encouraging JAAA to turn up the heat in hopes of cracking Franno’s hold on his own athletes.
I can still remember bringing Merlene Ottey for treatment to Waldemar in Seoul after the 100m first round after she had suffered the effect of the ministrations of the JAAA, away from her own coach and normal training program.
who is kerron stewart’s coach?
Pretty sure she trains in the US
More fuel for the fire…
FRANCIS BLASTS JAAA
Says association should clean up rather than prosecute MVP athletes
BY KAYON RAYNOR, Senior staff reporter raynork@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, August 20, 2009
BERLIN, Germany - Stephen Francis, head coach of the MVP Track Club, believes the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) will be better served trying to eradicate doping from the sport in Jamaica than trying to prosecute his athletes.
Francis’ utterance comes in the aftermath of reports that the JAAA plans to have a disciplinary hearing to sanction members of the MVP Track Club who missed the mandatory pre-championship camp in Nuremberg between August 6 and 11.
“Look here, Mr Aris can do whatever he wants. If he decides that what he wants to do is victimise the athletes, fine!” Francis told the Observer last night after Brigitte Foster-Hylton won Jamaica’s first ever gold in the sprint hurdles in the history of the IAAF World Championships.
“The sport has changed a lot since the time that he has been boss of this sport in Jamaica and I don’t want to issue any challenges, but I think that what we need to really do is to find out how we can. I mean it doesn’t look good for you to be victimising these athletes while the ones who took the drugs are running around and their coaches and so on being supported by the JAAA,” Francis reasoned. “It is stink all over the world and the JAAA needs to understand that what they should be doing is trying to find out how to get the sport in Jamaica drug free. That is what they need to be doing,” an upset Francis said. The five athletes who are currently embroiled in a dope case are Sheri-Ann Brooks, Yohan Blake, Lansford Spence, Marvin Anderson and Allodin Fothergill.
He did not clear the air on the matter of whether his athletes were notified in writing or verbally by the JAAA that the camp in Nuremberg was mandatory.
Asked if the performances of his athletes justified them not attending the camp, the astute coach replied: “It’s not a matter of justification, it’s a matter of philosophies. Most of what I do is either new to or foreign to the traditionalists, a lot of whom are in the JAAA. They don’t understand the importance of coaching, they don’t understand the importance of judging scientific calculations of quantities of work and that kind of stuff, and that is a lot of the reason why we end up clashing so much.”
He continued: “I believe that if I don’t stick to my guns, my charges are not going to perform well and I believe I have evidence of that in Osaka and, to a lesser extent, last year in Beijing and so to me it’s usually the question of do you, for a peaceful life, bow to the JAAA’s dictates and the athletes don’t perform or do you try and challenge them and if they are allowed to participate know that you’ll get good performances, and it’s something that I hope we don’t have to go through over and over again,” Francis said.
“The only reason why these people (athletes) can train is because they have contracts with shoe companies and these meets are more than just winning gold medals and silver medals for Jamaica. These meets determine whether or not these people will have their contracts next year and when they make mistakes and don’t perform well their contracts are taken away and the JAAA or the Government is not going to replace that money,” Francis said, noting that athletes can’t survive in the sport otherwise.
On August 13, JAAA president Howard Aris confirmed that sanctions will be taken against the MVP athletes who had missed Jamaica’s mandatory camp in Nuremberg.
“The JAAA’s rules and regulations are very clear, persons who bring the association or the sport into disrepute can be brought before a panel,” Aris said during a press conference here.
The athletes who could face sanctions for missing the JAAA’s six-day camp are Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Melaine Walker, Shericka Williams, Kaleise Spencer and Brigitte Foster-Hylton.
Aris indicated that the three-member panel, which was empanelled in January, is chaired by former Jamaica Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe.
The other members are former Attorney General of Jamaica Winston Spaulding, and former chief of staff of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Major General John Simmonds. Aris did not indicate what possible actions the athletes could face.
I’m pretty sure that she still trains with Henry Rolle her coach while at Auburn as does Josanne Lucas who got bronze in the 400m hurdles. If so, he’s had a very good WC’s.
im interested in knowing… what was Bolt doing then during that time period? Since MVP was only one out… and where does Glen mills fit into this training camp picture, etc.
Mills is the head coach of the Jamaican contingent, just like last year.
You are correct regarding Rolle and Stewart but I was unaware of Ms. Lucas. I believe TJer Leevan Sands is also at Auburn…Oh and Shamar Sands (110H) too.
Glen Mills is preparing his athletes the way he wants and the way he does routinely and Franno wants to do the same. no surprise there surely.
Glen Mills wouldn’t want to hand Bolt over to Franno or anyone else at the last minute either, but he doesn’t have to worrry about that now.
Bolt had his share of troubles during the time when he had a number of injuries. We can only speculate if those throubles were aggrivated by JAAA staff then, when the popular theme was that Bolt had to get rid of Mills.
I’m pretty sure Mills has his own stories he’d prefer to keep to himself at this point.
I guess I can’t imagine Mills prescribing workouts for Frater as I would expect Mills (if anyone) to understand the importance of ones own personal coach. I sometimes wonder if it’s more of an issue that Franno cannot be there to make a modifications to the training as needed in the days leading up or to simply provide comfort and stability to the athlete’s psychy.
Just a thought…
I don’t think it’s Mills they needed to worry about but Mills has his own crew to look after and wouldn’t want to interfere on behalf of people he isn’t directly involved with.
Remember, every country has a set number of credentials. For every coach of an athlete they leave out (Franno, etc) there is space for a JAAA crony with an agenda to attach their name to athletes they didn’t produce and without the knowledge to leave well enough alone.
I would think that the change to a new location, training environment, and presumably therapists in the final stages is as offending as not being able to be present for Franno and other coaches who don’t like the training camp idea.
One level oh hyracy too many.
I don’t go to uni, do your own spellcheck.
Ya I see, but what are you referring to exactly by Mills having his own stories?
How he was getting backstabbed by others who wanted to wrestle Bolt away from him.
As aggrivating as it no doubt was for him, he needs to play the game now to keep the position that lets him do his job.
It is the JAAA who have brought the sport into disrepute, either through their own stupidity, arrogance, misdirection (either accidentally or god forbid, intentionally). Put yourselves on trial, but I suspect the jury of public opinion has already concluded their verdict: death by duplicity.