Lewis-Francis irate at second trial for individual sprint spot
Michael Phillips
Wednesday August 1, 2007
The Guardian
Mark Lewis-Francis must put himself through the rigours of a second trial at the Norwich Union London grand prix at Crystal Palace on Friday to show Britain’s selectors he is good enough to be in the individual 100 metres team for this month’s world championships in Osaka.
The sprinter’s name appeared only among the relay runners when the first wave of athletes for Japan was announced. Marlon Devonish and Craig Pickering have been chosen but the third position has been left to the discretion of the selectors before their deadline on Tuesday.
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“Obviously he is pissed off,” said his coach, Tony Lester, yesterday. "The biggest problem you have is that after you do the championships [which doubled as the trials] you have a big low. Then you have to get yourself up for another big race
“Mark is now a mature man rather than an immature kid of 18 who would have thrown his toys out of the pram. What we have to take from this decision is that the door is not closed, so hopefully on Friday night he will do something special and the matter is over.”
Lewis-Francis was not happy when he received the news from John Trower, one of Britain’s senior performance managers in a phone call at 8pm on Monday after the selectors had met.
"He rang me and the phone was like that . . . " said Lester, stretching out his left arm to show how he had to hold the handset away from his ear because of the volume in Lewis-Francis’ voice. “He said ‘they have not picked me’,” added Lester. “I was a bit shocked but I kind of expected it.”
Even though he had ticked almost all of the boxes for a place in Osaka, Lewis-Francis, 24, the world junior 100m champion in 2000, has failed to reach a major 100m final since the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and has not run quicker this summer than the Londoner Simeon Williamson, who has a season’s best of 10.10sec but missed the trials because of illness.
Williamson will not be at the Palace. He has flown out to Bangkok for the World Student Games which start a week today - 24 hours after Britain’s deadline for naming the rest of the team.
The International Association of Athletics Federations allows nations to select four competitors in each event, declaring their best three before the start of the championships. It is likely that will be the scenario here but if Lewis-Francis does not run well in London he might not be selected at all. Dave Collins, the UK Athletics’ national performance director, hinted the final place could be open to others such as Jason Gardener and Tyrone Edgar. “There are a number of athletes who have the qualifying time,” said Collins. “We are looking to pick the best team. Mark is a changed athlete and ran well through the rounds [on Saturday]. But I have the opportunity to wait and see how others compete on Friday.”
A place in the women’s 800m has been left open - and it could go to the European bronze medallist Becky Lyne even if she does not win on Friday night. One of the criteria for championship teams is taking athletes as medal prospects in years to come and even though she has only just returned after injury she is seen as a future star.
The Commonwealth Games 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu could be in both the 400m and 4x400m relay. Her time trial on Thursday at Crystal Palace will determine her fitness after her year suspension for missing three drugs tests and she could make an instant return.
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