Williamson hot for Valencia spot
Michael Phillips
Tuesday February 19, 2008
The Guardian
Simeon Williamson was all but guaranteed the second 60m spot in Britain’s team for the World Indoor Championships last night when Craig Pickering had his winter season ended by injury.
Pickering, who was due to run in Paris on Friday before the selectors chose the rest of the squad 48 hours later, has sustained a knee injury and will not compete again until the summer.
Williamson and Pickering were vying for the other position in the 60m in Valencia alongside Dwain Chambers and it was a close call, because both sprinters had run 6.57sec indoors this year.
“It has cheered me up and I would like to think I would be in [the team], yet I will wait and see,” said Williamson last night. “But I would not wish injury on anyone.”
Pickering, the European Indoor 60m silver medallist, missed the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham on Saturday with illness and his coach Malcolm Arnold said: "Craig won’t be competing in Paris on Friday and has drawn the line on his indoor season.
“He was just getting over the virus which kept him out of Birmingham when the knee problem came to light and it’s now affecting his hamstring. His doctor said it would be a miracle for him to get fit enough to run in Paris.”
It would be astonishing if Williamson were not selected because next on the rankings is Ryan Scott, Pickering’s training partner, who has a season’s best of 6.59sec.
Chambers met his solicitor, Nick Collins, last night to discuss the possibility of launching an appeal against his Olympic ban.
UK Athletics had let Chambers’ legal team know that they had been reminded by the British Olympic Association that the deadline was last Friday to ensure a hearing could be arranged before Beijing. The BOA confirmed yesterday that Chambers has not appealed.
