Track of tears

Controversy is already building over the track for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Based on the test runs of Australian sprinter Matt Shrivington, the track to be used at the Homebush stadium could be the fastest in history.

While that spells good news for the sprinters, who will gain financially from any world records set at the games, it is bad news for the long distance runners. The surface, called Mondo, is extremely hard and unforgiving and, while it will ensure the sprinters cover the distance quickly, it also means injury and sore legs for the 5000m and 10,000m runners.

Shrivington, who finished fourth in last year's Commonwealth Games, was impressed with the track but said that he would not train on it as even a few recent trials caused his shin splints to flare up.

In Atlanta, in 1996, the track was so hard that it caused Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie to cancel his attempt to add the 5000m title to his 10,000m win. Gebrselassie's legs were so punished after two rounds of the 10,000m that he could not compete any further.

The Mondo surface, which is predominantly rubber has been used extensively in the constructionn of modern state of the art tracks and some 120 world track and field records have been established on Mondo over the last 10 years.