Did French M35 hurdler get unfair advantage at worlds?
(Updated at 7 p.m. April 18: Check out the latest development at this post.) An eagle-eyed athlete who competed in Clermont-Ferrand checked out the Linda Carty videos and spotted a potential problem: a hurdler practicing starts as a race was being contested nearby. Uh oh. Is this kosher? Check out this clip. I was asked: “Isn’t it illegal to practice with the starter?” The hurdler shown appears to be French M35 silver medalist Gael Ovois — note the yellow/orange and black spikes. Did he have an advantage, given the possibility that others in his age group were chilling (literally) in the call room? Were other hurdlers allowed to warm up alongside races in progress?
I wrote my friend Andy Hecker, a USATF official, and he replied:
I have looked through the IAAF rules under which the meet was conducted. I can see no provision that prohibits practice starts. Practice trials are specifically allowed before competition in field events so there is the intrinsic parallel to running events. . . . The fact that the Call Room sounded unreasonably cold should be as yet another call for a protest, but we never seem to have any provisions to hold incompetent Local Organizers responsible for their failures . . . Charlotte, Orlando . . . Nor are athletes apparently allowed to seek their own solutions. As sensitive to cold as I am, I’d have been mega-pissed if I was locked in a freezer before a sprint race.
Here’s a screen shot from the video, showing Gael crossing a hurdle (near bottom) as the M55 hurdle final is being contested yards away:
Here’s a Tom Phillips photo of Gael (who lost to American Don Drummond in the final) in one of his hurdle races:
9 Responses
Photo of Gael Ovois (C)Tom Phillips 2008.
Ken, while you have a point, I’m afraid it isn’t one that Gael should be held to account for alone. In comments on previous blog posts about the Clermont Call Room procedures, the fact that numerous athletes walked out and were seen continuing to warm up in the stadium up has been pointed out, and certainly hasn’t been disputed by any of the athletes themselves. That includes some US athletes.
As an athlete who, like the overwhelming majority, sat it out in the cold of the Call Room, because I believed that this was what the rules demanded, I’m not condoning those who walked out, but neither can I say, hand on heart, they were wrong in the circumstances. In my own events, I’m unaware of any subsequent sanctions for their actions, so perhaps the Call Room staff were actually sympathetic?!.
But like I commented at the time, how enforcible were the rules anyway? The Clermont Ferrand handbook for athletes, which was in everyone’s registration pack, says that “ALL competitors will be accompanied by judges from the Call Room to the Stand By area, where they will be called up again.” If this rule really does mean that when we went to Call Room, we could not leave for any reason unles escorted, this was breached many times. Perhaps the situation can be made even clearer in future, and the sanctions for breaching it can also be clear?
I get up in the morning to read my email. What’s the first thing I see? An email from Ken Stone AGAIN about this video.
When I returned from France. he “sprang” this video on me as evidence that I was warming up on the track. NOW, he wants to use it as evidence that Gael Ovois was warming up.
Frankly, I don’t know WHO this person is but judging from his form, he wasn’t a very good hurdler….
That being said, I am going to say the same thing to everyone that I said to Ken. I pointed out to him that 1)everyone knows that I always warm up in grey sweats, red shirt with a superman shirt underneath and 2) this hurdler’s lead-leg is right and I am a left-leg hurdler.
Now, as far as whether this is Gael Ovois – LOOK at the video, this guy is DARK and Gael is damn near white!
I guess we still look alike to some people….
Ken – you need to stop.
Everyone else, you need to get a hobby.
After reviewing the video, I realized that this was not Gael Ovois. Gael Ovois form was too good to be this guy. This may have been APPIAH Joe M35 from Grande-bretagne – Irlande Nord. Ken I will send you a picture of the award ceremony. He is wearing the same black warm up suit. The bottom line is there is no real advantage when it comes to true athleticism. I see some guys who never warm up and beat thier competitors, so to me this is not a factor in winning races.
Don Drummond
I need some clarification. I’ve been told that it is a rules violation to practice your starts using the starter’s sequence and gun from a race that is being currently contested. In other words, you can’t get into crouch position and practice “set” and “go” in order to gauge and time the starter’s cadence while he is starting other races. Unfortunately I have seen many athletes doing this while waiting for their races. So is this legal or not? And if it isn’t, why aren’t officials stopping this practice?
Unnumbered page XX of the Clermont-Ferrand Competitor’s Handbook stated “Only the athletes who are directly involved in the current competition are allowed to be in the competition area in the Stadium Jean-Pellez. The athletes will enter the Stadium Jean-Pellez only if escorted by a competition judge.”
It is normal that nobody is allowed onto the competition area, unless escorted by the Call Room officials and supervised by the track stewards. That incidentally also applies to national team managers.
So formally you cannot practice starts in the competition area. But everything is relative. If your face fits and the WMA turns a blind eye – then you can get away with anything.
Lord, what have I done. I just hope somebody doesn’t make me and my little camera disappear.
Message to Linda,
You might keep an eye on your rear view mirror, but it won’t be me. I always look forward to seeing your happy face and hearing your wit at the major meets. Your videos are a treasure for masters track history.
As far as leaving the call tent early…there were no rules enforced in Clermont on a consistent basis. The idea that ONE individual did or did not leave early is arguably an irrelevant point when placed in the larger context of the meet organization and procedures. Hundreds of athletes left the tent early. Not because of the compulsion to cheat, but because the tent was literally freezing and there was often not one official present to give any direction whatsoever.
I see no Gael Ovois on that video. Is this some kind of an anti French retribution? And yes, the master athletes and judges follow rules less strictly than in elite competitions. But lets face it, world championships are essentially all-comers meets. So what do you expect?
It was clear to me immediately that the athletes in the two pictures above are not the same person before I read anyone’s comments. Now I read from several others indicating the same.
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