Athletics: Coaches slow out of relay blocks

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Oh, the choices.

The United States' real 'dream team' - its track and field squad - have landed in Sydney racked with problems. Big problems. Like whom to leave out of their relay teams.

While New Zealand struggled to select an athletics squad of nine, the Americans have brought 126 athletes to the Olympics.

Team coaches - almost more than the Kiwi squad - drew several hundred journalists to a press conference yesterday where they chewed the fat on what a tough time they were having selecting their 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

They were not bragging. It's just a fact. While our sole sprint representative is Chris Donaldson, their team is so stacked with stars that they can afford to run what would effectively be a substitutes bench, and wait until after the individual sprint finals to decide on whom to field.

Hounded by reporters keen to know who will run in the men's 4x100m, head coach John Chaplin snapped: "Hey, my mother probably has a favourite team but we're going to wait until after the finals to decide."



The choices are so abundant that the coaches have decided to rest sprint sensation Marion Jones in the preliminary rounds to help her achieve an unprecedented five gold medals at the track - 100m, 200m, long jump and the two relays.

Head women's coach Karen Dennis revealed that Jones would have to run only the finals of the relays.

The athlete has set herself such a punishing schedule that Dennis has agreed to cut her some slack. Not that there are any doubts in Team USA that their Marion can do it, you understand.

"She knows how to distribute her energy, she will probably pace herself as well as she can through the rounds, get through the long jump and then rock and roll through the relays," said Dennis.

Women's sprint coach Laverne Sweat said she was certain that Jones had the ability and the attitude to pocket five golds.



Meanwhile, US marathon champion and former world cross-country winner Rod DeHaven is detouring to New Zealand for four days' training on his way to the Olympics.

Chaplin said DeHaven would be in New Zealand from Sunday until Wednesday.

Asked why DeHaven was not heading straight to Sydney, Chaplin stared as if the answer was obvious.

"It's a zoo here," he told the Herald. "What is it, one and a half of you guys [journalists] to every one of them [athletes]? If I had a choice I'd go there too. I'd rather have a Scotch in front of me than you guys."