By Symone Goss and Gary Smith, World-Track
COTTBUS, Germany – MVP Track Club sprinter Michael Frater, an Olympic 100 metres finallist, reported to start training at the Jamaican camp for the World Championships, but manager Paul Doyle does not believe it is necessary for his fellow club colleagues to join the camp.
Frater, the runner up to American Justin Gatlin at the 2005 championships, joined the training group in Nuremberg, Germany on Saturday evening – confirming the statement made by his agent on Friday.
However, Doyle said that former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell and Olympic gold medallists Shelly-Ann Fraser and Melaine Walker were among the athletes from the club who would not be attending the camp.
Two others, Olympic 400m silver medallist Shericka Williams and hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton were also among the key members staying with coach Stephen Francis.
"They’re training in Italy and receiving treatment from the clinic there and getting their training in," Doyle told the Jamaica Observer. "And there’s no reason for them to go to the camp early, and to be honest, JAAAs has never once sent a message to me that the camp was mandatory.
"Only the media has been telling me that it’s mandatory," he added.
The current situation is similar to that of last summer when a Powell-led MVP contingent failed to show up on time for the pre-Olympic camp in Tianjin, China.
Two of the members, Fraser and Walker, however, went on to win gold medals in the 100m and 400m hurdles, respectively.
The 12th staging of the world championships begin this week in Berlin.
