THINGS NOT ADDING UP OVER FRASER-PRYCE EXCLUSION FROM WORLD RELAYS COMPETITION

In the days leading up to Jamaica’s best ever performance at an Olympic Games in 2008, the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) were at odds with the MVP track club over a mandatory training camp that the country’s athletes were to attend. Jamaica stood to lose out on having the services of Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Nesta Carter, Melaine Walker, and Michael Frater because of the impasse.

Thankfully, good sense prevailed and the athletes went on to deliver a history-making showing at the 28th Olympiad in Beijing, China. There were rumblings in the years to come but eventually it seemed as if the country managed to move on from those dark days. However, just last week it seemed as if we have not.

Now, before I go on I will concede that there are several variations of the truth because one man’s perception of the truth is not necessarily the same as another’s.

Before the second edition of the IAAF World Relay Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, Jamaica named a strong squad that on paper looked like it would see the country do even better than it did in 2014. Then just before they were to depart for the Bahamas, about seven members of the team were withdrawn from the squad. All were members of the University of Technology/MVP camp.

No official reason was given for the withdrawal but word was that some athletes were tired after a hectic schedule that included competing at the Penn Relays the weekend before. We also heard that some athletes had exams pending. Now both reasons make a lot of sense. Tired athletes are prone to injury and with the IAAF World Championships looming the last thing you want to do is have a bunch of athletes, your best emerging athletes racing against time to be fit for competition at the national championships in June.

Also, the athletes need to ensure their studies are not neglected because we all know there is life after track and we have seen other athletes balance their academic and track careers with great success so if a meet has to be missed in the interest of academic advancement then so be it. However, what doesn’t make sense to me is if all of these issues were already on the table, why put the athletes up for selection in the first place?

That is the first question I would love to hear someone answer?

So off the team went without the seven or so athletes who were withdrawn for the above-mentioned concerns. It is my understanding that Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce was down to compete in the Women’s 4 x 200 metre relays as was Schillonie Calvert. Both athletes were allowed to compete in the 4 x 100m.

This is where it gets murky. The coach of the 2013 World Champion requested that his athlete be allowed to run the heats and finals. Requests were made for her to run the first leg in the heats. We are being told that the team coaches were reluctant to drop any of the ladies already selected to run the heats but agreed to include Fraser-Pryce in the finals.

Apparently, that was not good enough for the coach and his athlete was withdrawn for the finals. Now here is the thing. We haven’t heard from Coach Francis but MVP Club President Bruce James speaking on Irie FM said Fraser-Pryce was prevented from competing in the final and her request to run the opening leg in the heats was denied. She was also not allowed to practice with the relay team for either the heats or finals.

Maurice Wilson, in an interview with the Gleaner, said the situation came about because of miscommunication. He did not say what the miscommunication was about.

Now, I understand that coaches look out for the best interest of their athletes so they will do everything possible to ensure that the interests of their athletes are best served. With in mind I am sure that both sides presented the situation as they saw it. The truth lies somewhere in between.

Whatever is the actual truth however, it is clear that going forward the selection process for the World Relays has to be managed differently and it has to be made clear who makes the decisions for the team once it is assembled. There is a phrase that says ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ which holds true to Jamaica’s track and field.

Clear rules need to be laid out about how these teams that are selected without trials are handled. The role of the coaching staff needs to be clearly defined and the input of the respective coaches needs to be considered, but it cannot be a free-for-all with every coach wanting to have his or her way in regards to how and when their athletes compete. There are six possible positions on a relay squad and I see nothing wrong in giving every athlete a chance to compete.

James alluded to the fact that Usain Bolt was given an opportunity to run both heats and finals of the relays, but the question here is, did the men have as many options for changes as the women did? And also remember, that Fraser-Pryce was initially down to run the 4x200m relay, not the 4 x 100m so there is a difference there.

Should Shelly have been given the go-ahead considering who she is and what she has done for Jamaica? There are arguments on both sides. As we saw, Simone Facey ran really well in both heats and finals so taking her out of the race would have denied her a chance of competing and making some money. Facey, by the way, is no big star on the circuit so giving her a chance to ‘eat a food’ so to speak cannot be discounted in any way.

However, if James’ assertions are correct that Fraser-Pryce was not given a chance to practice with the team then someone needs to explain why she was allowed to switch from one event to the other if she was not going to be given an opportunity run? Things are not adding up at all.

In the interest of the country, we need to get these simple things right.