Christie's bonus

Athletics

PERSONAL intervention by the International Amateur Athletic Federation's all-powerful president, Primo Nebiolo, has allowed Linford Christie one last chance this season to salvage his reputation as the world's most feared sprinter. An invitation 100 metres involving Christie and the new world champion, Canada's Donovan Bailey, has been added to next Saturday's IAAF/Mobil Grand Prix final in Monaco.

Nebiolo has also told the meeting's organisers that they must make room for a 1,500 metres race. That should allow Noureddine Morceli, of Algeria, the world's outstanding middle-distance runner, to add television interest to a meeting that looked in danger of being an anti-climax after Zurich and Gothenburg.

Nebiolo is well aware that television companies world-wide are studying production costs in relation to declining viewing figures for athletics. Any large decrease in television coverage would lead to a reduction in sponsorship money. As a result, he is keen the season should end with its most valuable wares on show.

Christie, who expects to have a cartilage operation this autumn, is clearly still a power and an attraction in world sprinting. Although he lost to Bailey by a split second in Berlin on Friday,thus losing out on his share of gold bars worth pounds 160,000, he dead-heated with the powerful American Jon Drummond at Crystal Palace the previous Monday, reinforcing his belief that next season, in spite of being 36, he will still be competitive. However, the fact his mid-race surges no longer seem quite as threatening suggests some loss in power, though he puts that down to his various injuries this summer.

While Christie continues to shrug off thoughts of retirement, the British world 110 metres hurdles record holder, Colin Jackson, is obviously struggling. Having lost to the emerging American Mark Crear in Zurich, he was beaten into second place by the same athlete in Berlin. With Allen Johnson, also of America, having won the world title, the Americans have in effect warned Jackson that unless he has a successful winter's training it will be the men from the States who dominate at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Jackson also faces a cartilage operation soon, followed by a tonsillectomy, and the Americans are making the most of any psychological advantages they can reap. Johnson remarked: "I think we've all seen that Jackson can be beaten but we have to be careful not to write him off. I reckon he'll be in the medals in Atlanta, but we may not be talking gold". As for Crear, he said: "From what I've seen in the past few months, next season this event is going to be dominated by me and Allen Johnson."