Athletics: Collins Gives Melbourne a Miss to Concentrate on Europe

The UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins is to snub the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March. It is only the second opportunity he has had of seeing Britain's top athletes in action at a major outdoor championship since he took on his new role.

"There will be enough people from UK Athletics in Melbourne watching what athletes are doing and reporting back," said Collins last night.

Each of the four Home Countries will have its own team of coaches looking after the athletes in Melbourne and Collins has decided to stay in Britain and begin preparations for the European Championships in Gothenburg in August.

Britain needs a boost after the disastrous world championships which Collins oversaw in Helsinki last summer, when Paula Radcliffe was the only individual medallist, claiming gold in the marathon.

"I would not have any role at the Commonwealth Games and my going there to watch did not seem the best use of my time," Collins said. "I will stay in Britain putting in place the systematic changes to the sport that are necessary."

Perhaps Collins has been told about the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland when his predecessor, Frank Dick, so struggled to gain official accreditation he had to claim he was a member of the Falkland Islands team to get into the stadium to watch the action.

South Africa's 4x100 metres team have been given a boost before the games with the announcement last night that they are to be awarded the gold medals from the 2001 world championships. The International Association of Athletics Federations has officially decided to reallocate the medals after a doping ban on Tim Montgomery, who was a member of the United States team that crossed the line first.

Montgomery, the former world 100m record holder, was banned for two years last month and had all his results from March 2001 annulled. Trinidad and Tobago will be get the silver medals and Australia have been promoted to third.

The Olympic and world heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft will be the star attraction at the Norwich Union International in Glasgow on January 28, the opening indoor match of the season. She will lead a strong Swedish side against Britain, Russia, Italy and a Commonwealth Select and will compete in the long jump against Jade Johnson and Kelly Sotherton.