A Step in the Right Direction

About damn time is all I have to say.

Berlin Golden League excludes Graham athletes

BERLIN, Aug 3 - The organiser of Berlin's Golden League event said athletes trained by U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin's coach Trevor Graham would not be invited to the Sept. 3 meet and urged other top European events to do the same.

Gerhard Janetzky, managing director of Berlin's Golden League event, said that U.S. sprinter Marion Jones, who was once trained by Graham, was also "not being considered" for the meet in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"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 $1 million.

The decision excludes Gatlin, the Olympic and world 100 metres champion who said he tested positive for testosterone but denies any wrongdoing, and 200 metres Olympic champion Shawn Crawford.

Dwight Thomas of Jamaica, 100 metres 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.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has said it would monitor Gatlin's case and if the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) procedure confirmed the violation Gatlin would receive a life ban.

Gatlin is joint world record holder for 100 metres 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."

Janetzky added he hoped the Golden League meets would in the future be able to agree on a "common line".

"Unfortunately that did not work out this year," he said.

Jones, who has never failed a drugs test and has denied cheating, won the 100 metres in Paris and was second in Rome.