A FORMER gold medal-winning British sprinter is expected to reject selection for the European Indoor Championships in Madrid next month despite making a successful comeback from a drugs ban. Mark Findlay, who was suspended for two years in 2000 for a steroid offence, is unwilling for now to commit his future to Britain and could compete for Trinidad and Tobago.
Findlay came within a whisker of recording the upset of the Norwich Union European indoor trials in Sheffield on Sunday when he led Jason Gardener, the world champion, from Bath, until the final strides of the 60 metres. However, in finishing second, he staked a strong claim to one of three places in the Britain team for that event in Madrid. The squad will be named next week.
At the forefront of Findlay’s thinking is a British Olympic Association (BOA) bylaw that imposes a life ban on competitors found guilty of a doping offence. Under the rule, two British record-holders, Carl Myerscough, in the shot, and Janine Whitlock, in the pole vault, are banned from the Olympics for life, having had appeals turned down.
Findlay, fearful that any appeal he may make might fail, is keeping his options open. He has dual nationality and, having not competed for Britain since 1999, can switch to Trinidad without having to serve an eligibility suspension.
Tomorrow night, in the Norwich Union Grand Prix, in Birmingham, Findlay, a member of the Great Britain relay team that won gold in the 1997 European Junior Championships, will be listed for Trinidad but the competition falls outside those to which eligibility rules apply.
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Trinidad does not operate such a bylaw. Tony Hadley, his coach, took Findlay on upon his return three years ago. “I thought there was a tragic miscarriage of justice and I was happy to work with him,” Hadley said. “He has not run for either country yet at senior level. He will not run in Madrid but that does not necessarily mean he will not run for Britain in the future.”