Berlin – Olympic discus champion Robert Harting wants to be removed from the shortlist for the 2014 athlete of the year award, because former banned sprinter Justin Gatlin has also been nominated.
US sprinter Gatlin, 32, was banned from 2006 until 2010 after failing a doping test and Harting, who won Olympic gold in London in 2012, has asked the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to cross the German’s name off the list.
Gatlin ran a world year’s best time 100m time of 9.77secs last month in Brussels, but world and European champion Harting does not want to be associated with the American.
“I asked the IAAF to remove me from the list,” Harting said.
“I find the nomination great, yet I stand for it alongside a known former doping offender and for that reason I asked to be removed from the list.”
Harting says the nomination alongside Gatlin is an insult “not only for me but also for my fans” and says the IAAF should “use honesty in their evaluation” for the award.
“If the IAAF doesn’t fully understand the difference, then they should just forget about it,” added the 29-year-old, who is out injured with a torn knee ligament.
The winners of the IAAF’s athlete of the year award will be announced in Monaco on November 21. – Sapa-AFP