Sprinters Commit Career False Start

Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery might be guilty of nothing worse than training with a coach who has a shady past.

But as long as they work with Charlie Francis, who admitted supplying steroids to defrocked gold medalist Ben Johnson before the 1988 Seoul Olympics and has since defended the use of performance-enhancing substances, they will be under suspicion every time they run. A season-best or career-best time will be met with skepticism that the most painstaking drug test won’t dispel.

Concerned that this public-relations mess will destroy what’s left of the sport’s credibility, a committee of the International Assn. of Athletics Federations will meet today to consider what to do. Which might not be much, besides expressing moral outrage, because although Francis was banned from coaching Canadian national team athletes, he’s free to coach other runners. And Charles Dubin, the Canadian judge who chaired a federal inquiry into Johnson’s steroid use, said in a letter solicited by Francis that he believed “it is appropriate to allow [Francis] once again to work with elite track and field athletes,” because Francis was frank during the inquiry and “has paid a high penalty with respect to his past mistakes.”

Jones avoided being convicted in the court of public opinion when her then-husband, shotputter C.J. Hunter, was suspended during the Sydney Olympics for a previous test that was positive for the steroid nandrolone. Her performances have made her the subject of whispers that she had chemical help, but she has always tested clean. Why, then, would she risk suspicion again by consulting Francis?

In December, Jones acknowledged being disappointed that she hasn’t improved her personal best times of 10.65 seconds in the 100 and 21.62 seconds in the 200, both set in 1998. At her level, improvements come in hundredths of a second, and Francis is considered a savvy technician. She undoubtedly thought Francis might find a flaw he could correct and help her shave those fractions off her times.

But at what cost? Her integrity? And the integrity of Montgomery, one of track’s most glamorous figures as long as he holds the 100-meter world record?

Charles Wells, who represents both sprinters, reportedly is preparing a statement about their involvement with Francis. It should include unequivocal condemnations of performance-enhancing drugs, and should be signed by Jones, Montgomery and Francis. Anything less will implicitly condone cheating and leave all three open to suspicion. That might not be fair, especially to Jones, who goes out of her way to promote track in the U.S. But such are the consequences of guilt by association.

Green Light for Greene

Several weeks ago, Maurice Greene called Montgomery “stupid” for leaving coach Trevor Graham to work with Francis, but he backed off during a conference call with reporters Tuesday and said Montgomery and Jones’ decisions don’t concern him.

He’s focusing on regaining the world record in the 100, which Montgomery took from him last summer with a time of 9.78 seconds.

“He just happened to have one of those days when he broke the world record,” said Greene, who will run the 60-meter dash Saturday at the Boston Indoor Games. “I know I can run faster than he can. I’m glad I’m still in the sport to come back and claim my world record, because I still think it’s mine. I recognize him as the world-record holder, but I don’t recognize him as the world’s fastest man. When they started calling me the world’s fastest man, it was when I won my first title. He hasn’t won a world title or an Olympic title.”

Conquering the Hills

U.S. skiers figure to do well at the Alpine World Championships, which begin Sunday in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Fifteen Salt Lake City Olympians made the team. Among them is Bode Miller, who is second in the overall men’s World Cup standings behind Stephan Eberharter of Austria and is the defending world super-giant slalom champion. Miller last weekend added a victory in the Hahnenkamm downhill to the downhill triumph he recorded in Bormio, Italy, last month. He has three other top-three finishes this season and 958 World Cup points, seven fewer than Eberharter.

Daron Rahlves of Sugar Bowl, Calif., also has two victories, and Kristen Clark has recorded three top-three finishes. Janica Kostelic of Croatia is the runaway women’s World Cup leader, ahead of Karen Putzer of Italy, Anja Paerson of Sweden and Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria.

“We’ve got a great chance to come out of worlds with the best results in many years,” said Jesse Hunt, the U.S. Alpine director. “We’re going to St. Moritz to win medals, men’s and women’s. This is a total team, and we’re looking for them to produce well on both sides.”

Hermann Maier, who a week ago recorded his first World Cup victory since he was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in August 2001, made the powerful men’s Austrian team.

Four U.S. men and three U.S. women qualified for the moguls finals at the freestyle World Championships at Deer Valley, Utah. The moguls finals will be skied today and the dual moguls and night aerials finals Saturday.

Here and There

The Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles announced grants totaling $1,497,434 to 24 organizations that start or sustain youth-sports programs. The biggest grant, $550,000, went to Kids In Sports, Los Angeles, which provides year-round sports programs for 9,000 at 15 parks, schools and housing projects. The AAF, funded by the surplus from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, has provided more than $130 million to youth-sports programs.

The International Badminton Federation announced it would open an office at Edison Field in Anaheim, with an aim of promoting the game in the Americas.

“We believe this is the first time an international federation will have an office in the L.A. area,” said David Simon, president of the Los Angeles Sports Council. “We hope it won’t be the last time.”

The move might be a good omen for the L.A. Sports Council’s bid to stage the 2005 badminton World Championships in Anaheim. Simon said the international body is expected to announce its pick after a meeting next month in Birmingham, England. The other finalists are Singapore and Denmark.

Olympic pole vault gold medalist Stacy Dragila, plagued last season by mysterious pain in her left foot, says she’s pain-free and training normally. Dragila, who will compete in Boston on Saturday, is intent on regaining the indoor world record from Russia’s Svetlana Feofanova, who soared 15 feet 7 inches last season.