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USATF Wanted Gatlin out of US Nat'Ls
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:56 am    Post subject: USATF Wanted Gatlin out of US Nat'Ls Reply with quote

[From Forbes.com]

USATF Wanted Gatlin Out of Championships
By BOB BAUM , 08.04.2006, 07:02 PM

Justin Gatlin insisted on running at the national championships in June even after USA Track & Field officials asked him to withdraw over his positive drug test, a person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Friday.

Because only the "A" sample result was available from the April test, USATF had no authority to bar Gatlin from competing. Results of the backup "B" sample are required before a doping test is considered positive.

Gatlin professed his innocence to USA Track & Field officials when they suggested that he drop out of the meet, said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information.

The 100 meters co-world record holder went on to win the national 100-meter title and was mobbed by fans afterward. Gatlin, who tied Jamaican Asafa Powell's world-record mark of 9.77 seconds three weeks after his fateful drug test, has not raced since. He canceled several European appearances, citing a leg injury.

Gatlin's agent Renaldo Nehemiah and his attorney Cameron Myler did not return telephone messages Friday.

When the U.S. championships began June 21 in Indianapolis, it was too late remove Gatlin's photograph from the meet's posters and the many banners hung around the city. The 24-year-old sprinter showed up at the pre-meet news conference offering no hint of what was hanging over him.

"I'm going to strive for my goals, and I'm going to go out there and make sure I put the world record out of reach by the time I retire," he told reporters.

Craig Masback, executive director of USA Track & Field, said he was shocked when he first learned Gatlin had tested positive after a relay race in Kansas in April.

"It's a grave situation," Masback said Friday in a telephone interview from Europe. "It's a positive lab test for an athlete that has spoken clearly on the need to compete with integrity and without drugs."

Gatlin, Masback acknowledged, had been the "standard bearer" for the anti-doping cause among U.S. athletes.

In early June, on the eve of the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., Gatlin welcomed the role of leader of a young, talented group of U.S. track athletes.

"We have a lot of young athletes - Jeremy Wariner, Sanya Richards, Allyson Felix - who are running world-class times, proving to the world there's no need for those cloudy allegations anymore," he said at the time. "We're trying to bring the sunshine back to track and field."

Gatlin also acknowledged he always would draw suspicion because his coach is Trevor Graham - who has had numerous athletes suspended for doping - and because he was suspended as a young college sprinter for using a prescribed medicine to treat attention deficit disorder.

"It's something I've grown to live with, something that keeps me fighting as an athlete, helping other sprinters and other youth come along and try to steer track and field in the right direction," he said.

A reporter noted that if he ever did test positive, he would come across as one of sport's greatest hypocrites.

"Yeah," Gatlin said at the time. "My head's on the chopping block."

Gatlin has gone to his parents' home in Pensacola, Fla., to await a hearing before a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency panel next week. Through his representatives, he has denied knowingly taking banned substances. Graham has blamed an Oregon massage therapist, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Under the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes are almost without exception held responsible for any substance found in their bodies, regardless of whether they had knowledge it was there. The standard for proving "exceptional circumstances" to lessen or drop any penalty is extremely high.

Some have suggested Gatlin's best chance to save his career would be to accept the latest penalty but seek forgiveness for the positive test he had as a college freshman, when the medication was a legitimate treatment that was not banned by the NCAA.

Because of the two violations, the 24-year-old Gatlin faces a lifetime ban. He would be stripped of his share of the world record but would keep his Olympic gold 100-meter medal from 2004 and the world 100 and 200 titles he won in 2005.

Masback noted he always has said he expected more positive tests, just not from the athlete leading the charge against doping.

"We're in the middle of this battle," Masback said. "We're not at the finish line. We're maybe very early in the race."

---

Any thoughts on whether he should've ran or not? I'm undecided Wink
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Again, this doesn't make sense .... Why didn't Masback and Company simply make the announcement ??? Everything else would have had to fall in line !!!

If Gatlin knows he did nothing wrong, then I can see him wanting to compete - feeling he is going to be exonerated !!!! But again, the powers that be simply screwed the situation up in my opinion ... Make your statement, put him on the sideline ... But instead they let the athlete make the decision ??? Come on ... WEAK !!!
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Masback noted he always has said he expected more positive tests, just not from the athlete leading the charge against doping.

Anyone that truly believes that is incredibly naive. The most outspoken athletes (against doping) are always going to be the ones most likely to be doing it themselves.

Quote:
If Gatlin knows he did nothing wrong, then I can see him wanting to compete - feeling he is going to be exonerated !!!!

Consider the other side of it, though. Someone expressed surprise at how someone who comes across so sincere and innocent could do something like this, assuming he actually did. Well, no matter what he did or did not do, knowing the accusations against him at the time of the US Nationals, it takes quite an actor to put on such a happy face for the public, meaning he's perfectly capable of faking his way through any situation previously.

Dan
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe on the acting ... I know, that if it were me, I'd just want to go out there and show the world - as in give my best effort ... Track would be the EASIEST place to be to forget about everything else ...

The hard part would be the OFF TRACK life !!!!
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know I wouldn't be capable of pretending nothing was wrong...

Dan
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If Gatlin is truly innocent, he and his camp may have just shrugged this off as an annomaly.
When I saw a similar article a couple of days ago, my first question was, what happened to the "B" sample??
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
If Gatlin is truly innocent, he and his camp may have just shrugged this off as an annomaly.

There's a major precedent for that sort of thing being blown out of proportion, regardless. Innocent or guilty, that would have to be pretty stressful.

Dan
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Every person has a different way of handling a situation and it also dependant on whether they are guilty or not in the first place.

In the case of Gatlin, if he were guilty then maybe he always had it in the back of his head that he may get caught so he may as well run in the champs as he did last year with the awareness that he is not playing Fair. He knew he had everything to gain and everything to lose while dabbling with drugs.

On the other hand I would have thought an innocent Gatlin would have been stressed out having been accused of a serious charge that may well end his career so as dan said it would seem hard to put a brave face on it and compete in the nationals.

If you take Marion jones as a person who has been under a lot of suspicion even though she hasn't tested positive but still have the mental capacity to train despite the stress of her professional and personal life and compete at the top level this year.

I guess you can only surmise that certain people have a greater ability to handle stress or are cheats from the outset and were always prepared to a certain extent of the consequences.
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the ability to handle stress at that level is almost inherent to the job ... The elite athlete deals with high levels of stress constantly - from training and competiton to the pressures of interviews, various appointments etc ...

No different than the high level stress of a senator or president or head of a corporation ... And in all of these cases, individuals deal with situations that those looking in from the outside are never privy to ...

Doesn't make these people great liars ... Just means they have learned to handle stress differently than others ...
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's pure speculation as we cannot really know what is going on in the athletes head unless they just go out and admit it. There are liars out there and I as well as most others still find it hard to believe that Gatlin has been deceiving everyone all along. I hope for his sake he wasn't and that he can prove it too.

Of course everyone of us goes through life encountering people who seem so genuine only to be very disappointed later, so as true as it is that athletes are conditioned to endure high mental and physical stresses from a young age such is the nature of their work they are still vulnerable to the same weaknesses as you and I.

Even within athletes they will have a different threshold which depends upon various other aspects of their personalities which I wouldn't even want to start on as I am not about to pretend I am a sports psycologist but I guess you know what I am trying to get it. I think I do, just about. Confused
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dan wrote:
I know I wouldn't be capable of pretending nothing was wrong...

Dan

Professional sports are a form of an art or craft known as entertainment. Being a good athlete is also about acting for the camera. I am not surprised at all. He is a great athlete.
The best soccer games are usually played at the third division level (back in my native Poland). The 1st and 2nd divisions are fully professional; however, in the third division, the players are happy when they are paid above the national average salary -- they have skill, but they do not do it for money, like most players in the professional divisions -- they do it for the love of the game. They represent their city or town or a rural community.
This is why, I love to look at the results of the local track and field meets in New Jersey with respect to the Open category competition: even if the results are an eternity apart from the stellar.
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