Not sure about Ottey, says coach

Jamaica's track and field manager denied on Tuesday that Merlene Ottey was assured of a place in their Olympic 100 metres team, according to a report in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.

Ottey said on Monday she would run both the 100 metres and the 4x100 metres relay at the Sydney Games, which start on September 15.

Her statement followed a disappointing performance in the Jamaica trials, where she trailed out of the automatic qualifying positions in fourth place.

But Winston Ulett, Jamaica's track and field manager, was quoted on the Gleaner website as saying from a training camp in Brisbane: "We have not spoken to Merlene at all. "I don't know why she would have made that statement if we haven't spoken to her.

"Nothing has changed as far as we're concerned. We have not decided which three athletes will run the 100 metres - we still have a lot of time."

Ulett told the Gleaner that Ottey, a five-time Olympian and winner of seven medals, would only compete in the 100 metres if one of the first three finishers in the Jamaican trials suffered a loss of form between now and September 20.

The trio who beat Ottey into fourth position were Peta-Gaye Dowdie, Beverly McDonald and Tanya Lawrence.

However, Ottey's time of 11.00 seconds in a small meeting near her training base in Slovenia on August 14 remains the fastest over the distance by a Jamaican woman this season.

Ottey, 40, was only cleared to compete in the Games by an International Amateur Athletic Federation arbitration panel in July after the sprinter had tested positive for nandrolone last year.

Entries for the 2000 Olympics close on September 11, although the final confirmation for the 100 metres is not until September 20.

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