British sprinting in doldrums?

The male sprinters suffered heavy criticism in the run-up to Athens, but produced the surprise of the games to beat the Americans and claim Gold in the 4 x 100m final, despite failing to get a competitor into either of the sprint finals.

Form

At the shorter individual events there has been no improvement, with no representative in the 100m, or 200m finals at the 2005 World Championships.

In the 400m, Tim Benjamin finished 5th in the 2005 World Championships, but a disappointing 6th in the 2006 European Championships. The bright new hope at 400m is Martyn Rooney.

Name	Age	Event	2006 Rank	2006 Championship Performance	Career High (if different)
Jason Gardener	31	100	86		Gold in Olympic Games (relay – 2004)
Mark Lewis Francis	24	100	28	Gold in European Championships (relay)	Gold in Olympic Games (relay – 2004)
Christian Malcolm	27	200	NR		Bronze in World Championships (relay - 2005)
Marlon Devonish	30	200	19	Bronze in European Championships & Gold (relay)	Gold in Olympic Games (relay – 2004)
Tim Benjamin	24	400	32	Silver in European Championships (in relay)	5th in World Championships (2005)
Martyn Rooney	19	400	38	5th in Commonwealth Games

Qualification

As yet, the qualification standards have not been decided for Beijing, but all six athletes should be capable of achieving the higher standard, unfortunately, I fear that we will again have to wait for the relays for a hope of seeing them achieve a medal.

What to watch

Mark Lewis-Francis has failed to live up to his junior promise, but remains a potential finalist in the 100m. The 100m is the blue-riband of the games athletic events and so will probably be a part of our ticket selection.