Ljubljana, August 27

Merlene had another test at the Brussels "Van Damme Memorial" two days ago and she came home sixth by an average result - only 11,18. Marion Jones performed very well and won by 10,83.

Merlene's next competition is on Wednesday, August 30 in Salonika, Greece where she'll try to prove again that her 11,00 at Ljubljana Meeting a fortnight ago and the same result achieved several times at her training tests were not a coincidence but a proof of her shape getting better and better as the Olympics approach.

Ljubljana, August 14

Merlene ran at a meeting in Ljubljana today just to test her improvement. She performed very well in two 100 m races at the stadium that's been her training base for almost two years now.

In the first, qualifying race she ran 11.25 while she "exploded" in her final race, though there were no real rivals in the field. She ran a fantastic time: 11.00 with a +1,3 wind, proving that she's well on her way to the Olympic medal.

As her coach Mr. Srdjan Djordjevic told us today, Merlene is already prepared well enough to run some 10.80 and today's result couldn't be a better proof of his words.

Merlene Ottey will continue to train in Ljubljana over the next ten days and run in two or three more international competitions later this month.

Read what Merlene told us after today's races at "COUNTDOWN"

Come back for a History!!!

She did it! At 40 years (and exactly 3 moths) of age she ran her best 100 m of the season - 11.06 was her time and she took third place, just after Marion Jones and Inger Miller!

Can you imagine Olympic finals without Merlene Ottey? No way!
By the way: Can you recall Marion Jones' last defeat in 100 m? Do you remember the athlete that beat Marion Jones about a year ago? Can you think of an athlete that's capable of doing it again?

(The answers are at the above picture)

Zürich, Ljubljana, August 11, 12:30

We'll all be watching our beloved Merlene Ottey, I believe, when she at about 8:25 PM (local time) starts at one of her most important races this season - at "Weltklasse" Goldean League Meeting in Zurich. We'll be able to watch her compete in lane 1 against the best 100 m runners in the world.

The field for tonight's female 100 m race is: Arron, Pintusevich, Jones, Miller, Sturrup, Gaines and Fynes (and Merlene, of course!).

We'll be seeing her accompanied by all the best athletes as we were used to - and as showed at the photo.

All the details can be found at: http://www.weltklasse.ch/ 

Ljubljana, July 26

Merlene Ottey has returned to Ljubljana on Sunday morning and is starting her preparations for Sydney.

She'll be preparing herself in Koper - at our Adriatic coast for a while (along with other Slovenian athletes coached by Mr. Srdjan Djordjevic) and then return to her Ljubljana base.

She's very optimistic and obviously in a much better mood than before going to Jamaica's National trials.

No doubt about Merlene’s innocence

Those of us who support good science and have conducted any research on steroids and sports in general and Nandrolone in particular are not surprised at the decision by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) arbitration panel in the case of Jamaica’s track legend Merlene Ottey. My worry was whether the panel would succumb to the pressure of the IAAF. Fortunately the panel demonstrated its integrity by making a decision based on the weight of the evidence presented, just as the local panel did.

The whole matter of setting limits and testing for metabolites of Nandrolone is fraught with uncertainty and disagreement. Searching questions are being asked about the limits set by the IAAF for this particular drug by several individuals and organizations, including FIFA, but in this instance I wish to address the other side of the issue – that of the analyses.

There seems to be the impression that Merlene has escaped on a "technicality". The fact is that sampling, storage and analytical methods affect results of analyses. Using inorganic geochemistry as an example, if I am testing rocks for the element sodium (found in common salt), I would get the sample into the appropriate solution and then carry out my analyses. But I cannot store the solution in glass flasks because the sodium in the glass will be leached (absorbed ) by my sample solution, giving me results which are higher than they should be. The significance of the error so introduced will depend on the level of sodium in my sample.

Other examples of samples being affected by various conditions could be quoted; the most familiar to readers would be substances which are placed in dark bottles because they are sensitive to light. In some cases the sample could be temperature sensitive, in others it could be pH, (acidity). Because of such reasons, the exact way of carrying out analyses and doing calculations for results are established, and analysts are required to follow them exactly and to do the correct thing every time.

If specific gravity (s.g.) is important in the calculation of the results in this particular test, and the specific gravity of the sample can change, this change must be kept to a minimum and it must be clearly stated which value of the s.g. is to be used. This is where the chain of custody of the sample becomes critical. The sample has to be kept under very controlled conditions if the analysis is not being done at the time of sampling. Some person or persons must take responsibility for ensuring that these conditions are met exactly until the test is completed. In the case of the samples of Merlene’s urine taken by the IAAF, this was not done. Not only was the chain of custody compromised, the conditions under which the samples were kept were, apparently, inappropriate.

Another consideration is that at low concentrations, very small errors can be significant. So going back to my rock sample, if my rock contains forty percent sodium, then if twenty parts per million leach into the solution from my container, it will not significantly affect my result. If however my sample concentration is five parts per million and one part per million leaches into the solution, I have a significant error. At the minute concentrations being analysed in the case of nandrolone metabolites, a small error in the s.g. can be significant.

Reduction of error is an integral part of all analytical work, and the amount of the error associated with each result must be calculated and stated. If the error introduced is too large, the result must be rejected. The analyst who does not diligently and carefully follow correct procedures can place no trust in the results obtained and should redo the analysis.

Based on the evidence presented to the arbitration panel, Merlene could have been exonerated on various grounds. The one stated, however, allowed the IAAF to save face. Hence, even though the panel of arbitrators did the right thing in the end, several fundamental questions remain to be answered about the Federation’s anti-doping programme.

Special commendations to those who supported Merlene during this difficult time, with honorable mention going to the JAAA which showed moral courage by not rushing to judgment in order to please its parent organization the IAAF.

Dr Barbara Carby (Red Hills P O, Kingston, Jamaica)

KINGSTON, Jamaica, July 22, (as reported by Reuters)

Merlene Ottey missed out on an automatic spot to run the 100 meters at the Sydney Olympics when she could only finish fourth in the Jamaica trials final on Friday night.

But she gets a second chance of making the Olympic squad on Saturday when she contests the 200 meters and she could also still make it as part of the relay team.

Ottey, 40, needing a top-three finish to guarantee selection for the 100 meters at the Games, ran 11.27 seconds in the final with Peta-Gaye Dowdie retaining her title in 11.19.

It was Ottey's slowest effort of the three appearances she made at the meet. She had clocked 11.09 in the first round Thursday and 11.15 in the semifinal earlier on Friday.

Dowdie, the U.S. Collegiate 200-metre champion, survived a tight finish, to beat 1999 world championship 200-metre silver medallist Bev McDonald (11.20) and Tanya Lawrence (11.21).

Ottey, winner of seven Olympic medals and 14 world championship medals including two gold, has been at every summer Games since Moscow in 1980.

She said on Friday her enforced absence from athletics as a result of the drug-taking allegation had been like a ``death sentence'' but she remained confident she would get in shape in time for the Games.

Ottey said: "In about six weeks I can get to running under 11 seconds ... I've done it in the past. I have the experience and I have the confidence.''

Ottey was banned after testing positive for the controversial anabolic steroid nandrolone but the ban was lifted on July 3 by an International Amateur Athletic Federation panel.

Kingston, Jamaica - July 20

Merlene Ottey, trying to qualify for her sixth Olympic team, advanced to the semifinals of 100 meters Thursday at Jamaica's Olympic trials. She won her heat race in 11.09 seconds.

Ottey, who has kept a low profile since arriving in Jamaica five days ago, had a slow start but made up ground on runner-up Tanya Lawrence then eased up at the line for the win.

"With 30 meters to go I was in a daze, but I got going and it was easy after that,'' she said and than added:

Merlene needs to finish in the top three of Friday's 100 m final to qualify for the event at the Sydney Olympics.