Agencies, BERLIN and Colorado Springs, Colorado
The organizer of Berlin's Golden League event said athletes trained by US sprinter Justin Gatlin's coach Trevor Graham would not be invited to the Sept. 3 meeting and urged other top European events to do the same.
Gerhard Janetzky, managing director of Berlin's Golden League event, said that US sprinter Marion Jones, who was once trained by Graham, was also "not being considered" for the meet in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
PHOTO: AP
"The nine athletes coached by Trevor Graham will not be invited," he said at a news conference on Thursday. "We cancelled negotiations with Marion Jones, who would have liked to have competed in Berlin."
The Berlin event is the final leg of a six-meet circuit of European competitions which feature a jackpot of US$1 million.
The decision excludes Gatlin, the Olympic and world 100 meters champion who said he tested positive for testosterone but denies any wrongdoing, and 200 meters Olympic champion Shawn Crawford.
Dwight Thomas of Jamaica, 100 meters winner in Berlin last year, will also not be invited because of his links to Graham, the former coach of disgraced world record holder Tim Montgomery and several other athletes who have received doping suspensions.
In response Graham said by telephone on Thursday: "I have heard that but I have no comment. They are just going off the comments that Michael Johnson wrote about in the British newspaper."
LIFE BAN
Earlier this week in a British newspaper US former 200 and 400 Olympic champion Johnson called for Graham to be banned for life because several athletes who trained under him had tested positive.
The International Association of Athletics Federations said it would monitor Gatlin's case and if the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) procedure confirmed the violation Gatlin would receive a life ban as this was his second doping offence.
Gatlin is joint world record holder for 100 meters with Jamaican Asafa Powell.
Janetzky said that he hoped other Golden League meets in Paris, Oslo, Rome, Zurich and Brussels would be "similarly sensitive when it comes to signing athletes for their meets."
Meanwhile, the US Olympic Committee banned Graham from its training centers and training sites on Thursday.
Chairman Peter Ueberroth made the announcement during a conference call and said the ban was "permanent."
"If there's something that convinces us to change our position, we'll look at it at a future time," he said.
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible