PEARSON COACH: ‘BAN FOR LIFE’
JESSICA PERIS’S RISE – AND FALL – IN ATHLETICS HAS BEEN MUSTWATCH, SCOTT GULLAN WRITES
THE Gold Coast coach who led Sally Pearson to superstar status has called for life bans for drug cheats amid the “devastating blow” of Jessica Peris’ alleged failed test.
Sharon Hannan, who led Pearson to Commonwealth Games, world championship and Olympic glory in the 100m hurdles, says the scandal engulfing Australian athletics will filter down to grassroots levels.
Sprinter Peris (main picture), the daughter of Olympic champion Nova Peris, pulled out of the Commonwealth Games selection trials on the Gold Coast, which ended on Sunday, and awaits the result of her B sample in the next few days.
It is understood Peris – who had been training with coach Tony Fairweather on the Gold Coast – failed an ASADA test and there is no indication so far of what substance is allegedly involved.
When asked what the punishment should be for those found guilty of drug violations, Hannan (inset) said: “Life”.
“I posted on Facebook (yesterday), an actual violation should be a life ban,” said Hannan, who split with Pearson in 2013.
“I don’t believe two years (for a ban) is in anyone’s interest, and certainly not the sport’s best interest.”
ASADA and Athletics Australia would not comment on the matter but Hannan described Peris’ absence from Games selection trials as “conspicuous”.
“I definitely think it’s sad,” she said.
“Australia prides itself on being a clean nation and anything like this is a devastating blow to our reputation, particularly in track and field.
“A lot of it goes on in other countries but we think we’re clean but maybe we’re not.
“At a meet in Brisbane there were hundreds of kids competing and they were in awe of her (Peris’) speed.
“They will be disappointed, definitely. “Does it send the message ‘we can’t do it (reach the top) unless we dope?’.”
Hannan, who coaches at Southport’s Gold Coast Victory Athletics Club, insisted she has a supplement-free policy with her athletes.
“Maybe that’s head in the sand stuff but I think with the right diet they can do the job,” she said.
Peris, 27, was in contention for Games selection after setting personal bests this summer over 100 and 200m. Last month she beat teen sensation Riley Day, who won the 100-200 sprint double at the trials.
Peris also ran a Games B-standard 200m qualifying time before Christmas.
According to the IAAF website, Peris lowered her 100m best time to 11.63 seconds on December 3 and then 11.41 on January 6.
LIKE every parent Nova Peris was encouraging and excited.
With every race she would hit social media, retweeting footage of her daughter Jessica winning races. The fairytale story was on track.
The wayward daughter of a former national hero gets her life on track and follows in her mother’s footsteps.
Nova’s crowning moment was at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 where she pulled off a unique moment in Australian sporting history.
Two years earlier she’d become the first indigenous athlete to win an Olympic gold as part of the Hockeyroos.
She then switched to track and field and won gold in the 200m and 4x100m relay in Kuala Lumpur.
She also had a remarkable ability to never be far from the headlines, even in retirement.
Her daughter inherited that headline-grabbing ability, thanks mainly to a messy court case in 2016 with former lover, NRL star Shaun Kenny-Dowall. Jessica didn’t come out of it very well. She retreated to Darwin and sought solace in the place that made her mum famous – the athletics track.
She was a good talent as a teen but didn’t handle the pressure of being Nova’s daughter and spurned the sport.
Motherhood then became her calling at the age of 20.
A stint in America training with Nova’s former coach in 2015 was the way to kick-start athletics again and in 2016 Jessica was around the fringes of the Australian set-up.
She made the extended squad for Usain Bolt’s Nitro series early in 2017 and was then part of a national relay camp.
A good solid athlete was how she could be described ... until this summer.
Personal bests in the 100m and 200m in December had people taking notice.
On January 6 at the Glynis Nunn Shield Peris clocked another PB of 11.41sec but it wasn’t just the time that stunned; it was how she took care of rising star Riley Day.
Day was left floundering in Peris’ dust and suddenly she was the name on everyone’s lips in the sport.
Jessica competed again in Canberra on January 20-21 and then disappeared. The silence told the story.
When she was a no-show at the weekend’s Games selection trials the whispers started about a positive drugs test.
Behind-the-scenes Nova was distraught, allegedly even threatening legal action if her daughter was prevented from participating in the trials.
But this was one battle she was never going to win.