August 12, 2009
Email This Post Print This Post UPDATED: Jamaica withdraws request to exclude Asafa Powell and 5 teammates
449 views
BERLIN — Jamaica has withdrawn its request to ban sprint star Asafa Powell and his teammates from the track world championships.
IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss says track’s governing body pressured the federation to change its mind because the exclusion of the six prominent athletes would reflect badly on the championship.
The Jamaican athletics federation has been in a dispute with the athletes after they missed a mandatory training camp for the worlds last week.
Weiss said Wednesday that “we asked Jamaica to reconsider in the interest of sport.”
The championships start Saturday.
Earlier, Olympic Games 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser and 400m hurdles winner Melaine Walker, along with former world 100m record holder Asafa Powel, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss has confirmed, were asked by Jamaica to be removed from the team to compete at World Championships.
Weiss says the request was made Wednesday but didn’t disclose a reason.
Another senior IAAF source said they had gotten to request verbally, but made it clear it has to come in writing.
“They were told to put it in writing before it (request) can be granted,” the IAAF source said.
The Jamaican athletics federation has been in a dispute with several athletes over a mandatory training camp, which MVP athletes skipped last week.
The athletes were identified as Fraser, Walker, hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Olympics 400m silver medalist Shericka Williams.
The request could be rescinded because the final entry list has to be with organizers 48 hours before the opening event.
Earlier this week, coach of the athletes, Stephen Francis is convinced the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) is out to sabotage him and the success of his athletes.
“I am convinced that the job of the JAAA executive, most of them, is to try sabotage me and the success that I have with my athletes,” he said.
“I think that everything they do, they designed to do it and I have to be very, very wary of what they do,” he continued.