Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Jamaican sprinter Thomas not affected by coach’s European ban

Thursday, August 10, 2006

by: Gary Smith
Caribbean Net News Sports Correspondent
Email: gary@caribbeannetnews.com

FLORIDA, USA: Former Jamaican sprint double national champion Dwight Thomas says he will continue to compete in Europe for the remainder of the season, despite several debates about the honesty of his coach, Trevor Graham.

Graham, a Jamaican-born world-renowned coach, has been in the heat for sometime now, and when his latest sprint star Justin Gatlin, the World and Olympic champion and 100-metres joint world record holder, failed a doping test earlier this season, it was announced that all his athletes, which includes Thomas, would be barred from competing in Europe.

However, Thomas said that statement was not a trouble to his calendar, stating that he's currently preparing to run in his first IAAF Golden League this season in Zurich among other meetings.

"Based on my situation, where I'm at right now, I know that I'm going to Zurich on August 16, which is going to be my first competition in the Golden League," Thomas confirmed with the Jamaica Observer.

"After Zurich, I'll travel to Monaco for the Super Grand Prix meet and then I will go to Linz, another Grand Prix meet, then Rieti, and hopefully I get back into the Berlin meet," he added.

The Berlin meeting over the years attracts world-class athletes and Thomas, a former junior standout for Jamaica, at both the regional and international level and champion of the 100m event at last year's meeting in 10.01 seconds, says his chances of defending his crown on the blue German track are getting better.

"The Berlin situation is getting better right now," Thomas said. "We're talking to the meet director, so they can handle it and iron-out everything. My agent is working on it, because he (the meet organiser) was just frustrated about what happened in America, but now he's more relaxed and calm, so I think I'll be in Berlin."

Should all goes well for the former Clemson University sprinter, he will have to match up against his own countryman, Asafa Powell, if he's to win back-to-back titles. One also feels that Thomas will have to break his 10.00sec career best in order to defeat the in-form world record holder.

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