Dowdie (left) and McDonald (right)
By Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor
SYDNEY:
A MAJOR fallout appears to be looming in the Jamaican Olympic track-and-field team five days before the final three runners are selected for the women's 100 metres event.
The Merlene Ottey saga which has been simmering since the Jamaican National Championships in July, is threatening to boil over as the athletes prepare to face the rest of the world in track and field which starts at the Games on Thursday, September 22.
A source close to the Jamaican team said yesterday that two members of the female track-and-field team may compete in individual events then withdraw from the Games if they are replaced in the 100 metres.
Winston Ulett, team manager for track and field, contacted yesterday, said the threats were news to him and may be just a rumour.
"I am not aware of that. Never heard it before," Ulett said. The track-and-field manager said he has been meeting consistently with members of the team and he had heard nothing.
According to the source, Tayna Lawrence, who was third in the 100 metres at the National Championships and has been running consistently well in grand prix meets in Europe, "is safe", but either 100m champion Peta-Gaye Dowdie or runner-up Beverly McDonald could be asked to step aside to make way for Ottey.
The sprint queen, who ran fourth at the National Championships, is now the fastest of the four and has twice gone under 11 seconds since then, including a wind-aided 10.91. Ottey, the double sprint silver medallist from the 1996 Games in Atlanta, has repeatedly said she will refuse to run the relay if an opening was not made for her in the 100 metres.
McDonald and Dowdie are not about to voluntarily give up their spots to anybody and have, according to the source, also threatened to withdraw from the sprint relay if they are replaced in the 100m.
The source said McDonald, the national 200m champion, if replaced, would run that event and then refuse to compete in the 4x100m relay while Dowdie who has not qualified for the 200m will not run the relays.
Ulett said yesterday nothing had changed since the National Championships and they would continue to be guided by two main criteria: positions past the post and current form.
"Our position has not varied or changed since from the first day after the National Championships. We will decide on September 20 which three will run the 100 metres," he said.
Four names, including Ottey's, were entered on August 25. The track-and-field team manager, however, said he was a bit concerned about the fitness of Dowdie.
"Dowdie has not been running but the doctors have examined her and she is in fairly good condition," he said.
Dowdie was expected to run on a sprint relay team at a warm-up meet in Sydney yesterday but the team was later withdrawn.
Other Jamaican athletes performed creditably yesterday. Mardrea Hyman, Charmaine Howell and Sanjay Ayre were all winners in their events at the meet. Hyman won the 1,000m in 2.45.63; Howell was a comfortable winner of the 600m in 1.25.37, and Ayre showed good form in taking the 300m in 32.81.
