Valencia, Spain - Dale Garland running for Great Britain at the World Indoor Championships in the relay final.
DALE GARLAND is playing down the Facebook furore highlighted by the BBC Sport website yesterday.
During a break in a weights session as he finalises preparations for the Beijing Olympics, the island’s best-ever athlete remains cool on the fuss provoked by the non-selection of Richard Yates and Andrew Strachan, a 168-word rant on Facebook [the internet chat room] and a threat of boycotts and protests at last night’s London Grand Prix, the last big event before Beijing. In his typical laconic style, Garland said: ‘Yer, it’s interesting. But I’m not worried.’
Garland was understandably keen not to enter the argument over his selection provoked, by people who see him ranked as 17th or 19th best best over 400 in the UK (dependant on which ranking site you look at) and yet chosen for the six-man 4×400m squad. Those critics, many of them obviously ignorant of Garland’s full track record, conveniently forget that the Guernseyman is not, in pure athletics terms, a one-lap runner. He is a hurdler and runs very few 400m races.
‘I don’t run 4 flats. I run 4 hurdles,’ said the local hero. ‘Some have made good points, others are talking rubbish.’ While critics see the bare stats and are using them to underline their arguments and bias, Garland does not see it as a case of him getting a free-ride. In fact, he revealed that he had been made aware at the start of the season that he could only go to Beijing as a 400 hurdler if he achieved the A mark.
He also has a fine record as a member of British 4×400 relay squads in the past two years, whether it be indoors or as the second fastest member of the GB four at this summer’s European Cup event. He is a safe pair of hands.
‘I’m training hard and doing my thing,’ he added.
One of those who has added his name tothe protest group called ‘UK Athletics Vote No Confidence’, is former GB star Matt Elias.
He said: ‘Athletics shouldn’t be about interpretation. It’s not like football. If you run the time, you should get in the team.’
Article posted on 26th July, 2008 - 9.35am
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