Shirvington confused by sprint decision
Len Johnson
March 6, 2008
MATT Shirvington says he doesn’t know where he stands after track and field selectors decided not to nominate individual sprinters, or a relay squad, for the Beijing Olympic Games, despite the fact that the men’s 4 x 100 metres relay team is in a qualifying position.
Chairman of selectors Peter Fitzgerald said: “The selectors do not believe any of our sprinters have shown a high enough standard to be included.”
Since breaking through as a 19-year-old with a national record of 10.03 seconds, when he placed fourth place in the 1998 Commonwealth Games final, the only major team for which Shirvington has not been selected previously was the 2004 Olympics.
Then, he was affected by a series of injuries and the aftermath of glandular fever. Now, he is fit and healthy, and believes he will run fast again soon, but is wondering where the selectors’ decision leaves him.
Shirvington finished fourth in the final at the nationals on Saturday, a bizarre race in which both he and Patrick Johnson were left in the blocks and subsequently lodged unsuccessful protests. “Even if I’d won, I wouldn’t necessarily have got in,” he said. The selectors seemed to be “taking a hard line on commitment to the relay and discouraging individual participation”, he said.
“At this point,” Shirvington said, “there may not be a relay team in Beijing: hence my confusion.”
Shirvington said he supported the selection criteria and understood no one had met them. A 4 x 100 relay squad — probably six runners — will be sent to Osaka in May.
Shirvington said he believed he could still achieve the 10.21 seconds A-standard required to run in the individual 100 at the Games, and to focus solely on the relay would compromise that goal.
“I need to sacrifice myself to do that,” Shirvington said. “Do I go with the relay, or roll the dice on an individual spot?”
