Friday, August 8, 2008

Something wrong here ~ Gavin case raises serious issues & questions

Gavin withdrawal under scrutiny

Gavin has now flown home from Team GB's training camp in Macau.
UK Sport is to launch an investigation after Great Britain medal hopeful Frankie Gavin had to pull out of the Olympics at the last minute.
The lightweight world amateur boxing champion was one of Britain's brightest medal hopes in China but he withdrew after failing to make his weight.
The 22-year-old had benefited from Lottery funding worth £70,000 a year in the run-up to the Olympics.
UK Sport said it was the boxer's responsibility to make the weight.


Gavin's Lottery funding included a £25,000 annual payment with the rest going on support services such as coaching, sports medical expertise and dietician's advice.

"We will review the sport post-Games as a matter of course, and not about just one individual," said the UK Sport spokesman.
"Clearly, this will be an issue for the boxing review.
"We do think he has trained incredibly hard and always had the right support but ultimately only he has responsibility for the weight that he is."

GB boxing coach Terry Edwards refuses to apportion blame.

Britain's boxing head coach Terry Edwards defended his decision to withdraw Gavin after the fighter was 3lb (1.36kg) over his 60kg mark.
"I felt if I pushed it any further there would have been a serious health risk," he said. "It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in boxing."
But nutritionist Kerry Kayes, who had worked with Gavin in the build-up to Beijing, said team officials should be blamed for his early exit.
"It's simply criminal that he's not going to the Olympics," Kayes, who has also worked with Ricky Hatton, told The Guardian. "I can only guess that some real errors have been made and that Frankie has been let down."
"What happened has cost Frankie Gavin a million pounds. That's how much they were saying an Olympic gold medal would have been worth to him if he turned pro straight after the Games. And it's just been ruined now."


BBC OLYMPICS BLOG
All that is certain is a young man will be flying home now with a bag full of regrets rather than the gold medal many thought was his for the taking

BBC Sport's Matt SlaterKayes said he had been denied the chance to work with Gavin in Macau by British amateur boxing officials and was sure he could have helped the fighter reach his weight.
"I guarantee that I would have got Frankie Gavin to make the weight," he added.
"I'm the guy who starts working with Ricky Hatton when he rolls into the gym, weighing 185 pounds, and I get him to shift 45 pounds in time to make the weight every time before every fight."
Amateur Boxing Association chief executive Paul King said: "ABAE will launch an internal investigation into the circumstances leading up to [Gavin's] withdrawal, which is a massive blow to our gold medal hopes, and to our essential UK Sport and lottery funding."

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