Sonia blasts ‘unfair’ Beijing decision
Thomas Chamney got one of the three B standard places which were agreed by the Olympic Council of Ireland after he beat Campbell in the 800m final at the Woodies DIY national championships on Sunday.
Afterwards the 24-year-old Clonmel man said he was advised by Athletics Ireland to return from Belgium where he was due to run on Saturday night and compete in the championships.
Yesterday Sonia O’Sullivan, whose husband Nic Bideau coaches Campbell, said it was most unfair not to have told the Maynooth athlete what was at stake in Sunday’s final.
“Nic got a call from Max Jones, Director of Athletics, at 1.15pm on Sunday to tell him but, at that time, David (Campbell) was out there preparing for the race and there was no way Nic could have contacted him from London,” she said.
“And when Nic spoke to Patsy McGonagle on Friday, there was no mention of it either. Nic told Patsy what David was doing this week to try get the A standard.”
As it turned out, Chamney reclaimed the 800m title from Campbell, who tried to lead all the way in the final.
And then, on Sunday night, the selectors included Chamney along with Michelle Carey (400m hurdles) and Pauline Curley (Marathon), who had achieved the B standard in their respective events, to the Olympic Council, who stepped back from their original insistence on A standard athletes only and selected the trio.
“It was most unfair,” said O’Sullivan, Olympic silver medallist in 2000. “They should have told everyone a month beforehand that there was a possibility that B standards would be accepted and then everyone would have been prepared.
“It would appear as if Pauline Curley and Michelle Carey were added on to soften the 800m decision and if this was the case then it was unfair to Pauline as well, because she now has just a month to prepare for the Olympic Games.
“And I think it is also unfair to Deirdre Byrne. She stayed in Belgium for the 1,500m on Sunday and ran just outside 4:08. If she knew that there was a chance B standard athletes would be selected, she might have been aiming for 4:08 rather than the A standard.
“But it was most unfair on David Campbell. Had he known of the situation as Thomas Chamney did, then he might have run differently on Sunday.”
Campbell was furious at not being told about the situation before Sunday’s final. “If I had known I would have run the race very differently,” he insisted. “If I knew I had just one man to beat and not nine I might not have tried to lead all the way.
“To say I was devastated would be a gross understatement.
“I have been treated like s**t. I had no information. I am sure we could have been told about this six weeks ago and then it would have been so different.”
Going into Sunday’s final, Campbell was the faster of the two qualified athletes, with 1:46.05 from last season, while Thomas Chamney had 1:46.66 from Lignano earlier this month.
“I have nothing against any other athlete and I want to stress that,” Campbell said. “My problem is I was not told like he was. I should have been informed of what was at stake going into the national championships but I was kept in the dark while Thomas Chamney knew everything.”
Patsy McGonagle, the Olympic team manager, said he always knew Campbell was going to compete in the national championships so he did not have to advise him to compete.
“I told Thomas Chamney that it might be in his interest to come home and compete in the championships as well,” he said. “I did not know at the time if B standards would be accepted by the Olympic Council. I knew I would be making a case to the selectors to have B standard athletes nominated for selection and that’s what happened.”
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