Editor's letter

GB winners rescue Palace experiment

THE Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace was something of an experiment due to its two-day nature. So did it work?

The organisers took a veritable galaxy of stars, threw them into the mix with most of Britain’s Beijing-bound team, and then stood back to wait for the explosions. Only problem was, many of the big names, such as Tyson Gay, Dayron Robles and Blanka Vlašic were late withdrawals, leaving the paying public feeling slightly short-changed.

Not surprisingly, this took the edge off the meeting. In addition, many thought the action would have been better if condensed into one session. Looking around, it was impossible not to notice lots of empty seats too.

Perhaps the lack of pizzazz was best summed up when most journalists covering the meeting only really leapt into action when Kelly Sotherton was involved in a sprint hurdles cock-up. Until that point, it was the most exciting moment of the meet and was “the story” in most newspapers the following day.

Ultimately, though, the event was rescued by British athletes who rose to the occasion to post a number of good wins. Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell, plus high jumper Andrey Silnov of Russia, were also fantastic. Overall, it was an enjoyable meeting. But there is nothing quite like the Olympic Games.

► BY hacking almost half a second off his PB, Richard Yates embarrassed selectors last weekend at Crystal Palace. The improving, in-form 400m hurdler is upset at being left out of the British team for Beijing (see page 10) and feels there is bias toward lottery-funded athletes – an accusation UK Athletics deny.

I can understand any hesitation when sending, say, a GB junior men’s team to a world cross country championships on the other side of the globe, especially when they will probably be humiliated by Africans. But this is the Olympics and for athletes like Yates the pure achievement of competing on such a stage is an honour they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Jason Henderson, Editor

From this week's Athletics Weekly, - available in WH Smith and all good newsagents, or on subscription

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