Athletics: Anxious wait for Freeman
Golden girl Cathy Freeman will be waiting anxiously for a telephone call tonight to hear whether or not she has been selected for Australia’s Commonwealth Games team.
The reigning 400 metres Olympic champion missed the Australian Athletics Championships in Brisbane at the weekend, which doubled as Games selection trials.
If the rules are strictly adhered to she should not be considered for the team.
But it is widely believed Freeman will be chosen for the 4x400m relay to make sure she gets to the Games in Manchester with ample time to fully recover from the stress fracture of the thigh that kept her out of the Brisbane nationals.
Australia head coach Keith Connor is clearly irritated by all the speculation over whether Freeman will make the team.
‘‘It is an issue that is out of the hands of the selectors. Nothing will happen until after the team announcement is made,’’ he said.
‘‘I can’t really talk about specifics except to say that the Cathy issue is just one of many.
‘‘We have lots of issues with athletes in various events which have arisen over the past few days.
‘‘Obviously she is a big name, but there are other situations just as compelling.’’
