WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
ATHLETICS was looking for a name to replace Usain Bolt and dominate the headlines, though nobody would have predicted it would be Isaac Makwala.
Few armchair viewers would have heard of him until the last few extraordinary days. Yet last night at the rain-lashed London Stadium it was ‘Makwala Time’.
The Botswana runner was suddenly and controversially allowed to compete in a solo time trial over 200m as a sorry saga took another twist.
It was a dramatic U-turn from the IAAF, perhaps looking to save some face after a nightmare 48 hours, but the decision raised fears a dangerous precedent had been set.
Makwala had been withdrawn from Monday’s 200m heats due to the norovirus bug which had hit dozens of athletes after being sick beforehand.
Then he missed Tuesday’s 400m final, where he would also have been a contender – having been blocked from entering the stadium – despite breaking his quarantine to insist he was fit to race.
Makwala’s period of ‘isolation’ was up at 2pm yesterday. Some four hours 40 minutes later he was taking to his blocks in lane seven – where he was due to be on Monday – as rain streamed down.
It was clear who the crowd backed in the furore of the past 48 hours as he was given a huge cheer by fans in a stadium that was two-thirds full at the time
The first 130m was dry, due to the roof, but in the final 70m he had to splash through the wet.
Yet he still easily met the stipulated time of 20.53secs to qualify for the semi-finals, in 20.20.
Makwala celebrated with a few press-ups to show he was fighting fit and make a point to the watching IAAF officials.
Just over two hours later he was back for the semi having been added in lane one to the original eightstrong line-up for the first race, which included GB’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
Makwala, whose season’s best of 19.77secs leads the rankings, finished second in 20.14 as American Isiah Young won in 20.12. It was Mitchell-Blake who was third in 20.19, meaning he had to sweat over the next two semis to see if he made it as a fastest loser.
But Mitchell-Blake had done just enough, and so had South African star Wayde van Niekerk, who also only qualified as a fastest loser as he struggled in cold conditions.
But Makwala, who has claimed he has been ‘sabotaged’ was still fuming over the decision, saying: “I wish the IAAF had taken
TODAY’S ACTION
EVENING 6.30 7.05 7.10 7.25 8.20 8.25 8.35 9.05 9.35 9.52
5,000m (w) heats Javelin (m) qualification High jump (w) qualification 800m (w) heats Triple jump (m) FINAL 1500m (m) heats Javelin (m) qualification 200m (w) semi-final 400m hurdles (w) FINAL 200m (m) FINAL
the decision to let me run the 400m first. I was ready to run it.”
There was no conspiracy theory here, just a mess-up and an initial lack of communication from the IAAF, who eventually sent its medical chief Dr Pam Venning on to BBC TV on Tuesday. Venning said: “I have to trust my doctors.
My role is to ensure the healthcare of the athletes here and it’s a very infectious and very virulent disease.”
In Rio last year the USA women’s 4x100m relay team were allowed to complete a time trial after protesting that they had been impeded by another team. They qualified and duly won Olympic gold.
But Britain’s Olympic rower Matthew Pinsent tweeted: “IAAF just compounding the issue now – what if someone else is ill (at another championships) and misses a heat? Can they also have a TT.” THE BBC panel of experts at the World Athletics Championships demonstrated clearly that when you want to know anything about the rules governing sport, let alone a public health issue, the last person you should ask is a sportsman.
Paula Radcliffe, Denise Lewis and Michael Johnson were outraged that Isaac Makwala was not allowed to compete in Tuesday night’s 400m final despite being told to remain in his hotel room for 48 hours following the outbreak of norovirus at the hotel where he was staying.
After IAAF head of medical services, Dr Pam Venning, patiently explained that they were following advice from Public Health England on how to contain the illness, the BBC panel gave their opinions on what should be done. The only problem was that they did not know what they were talking about and the longer the debate went on this became more and more apparent.
Radcliffe said Makwala should be allowed to run “because he had his own lane to run in”. There were also calls for a blood test, which does not detect the virus. Lewis thought the other athletes should be asked if they were happy to run against a competitor who may have norovirus. Johnson unhelpfully suggested there was a conspiracy against Makwala, rather than a genuine public health issue.
It made for embarrassing television and illustrated the flaws in the BBC’s policy of filling their studios with former sporting stars rather than people who know what they are talking about. The viewing public deserve better.