Graham trial focuses attention of top performers

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

CARSON, California (Reuters) - The eyes of the athletics world will be on San Francisco from Monday when former elite coach Trevor Graham is scheduled to start trial on charges of lying to federal investigators.

Several high-profile athletes coached by Graham have been banned for steroid use, including American sprinters Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones.

Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner fervently hopes the trial will help pave the way for a fresh start in his sport.

"All we can do is just keep doing what have been doing: staying clean, working hard at what we do and enjoy it," Wariner told reporters after winning the men's 400 meters at the Adidas Track Classic on Sunday.

"I go out every day at practice knowing that what I am doing is right and that I work hard for what I do and to represent my family and my country in the right way.

"Hopefully, this trial does help in cracking it down and breaking everything out. But, like I've said in the past, I am clean. I know I am clean so I get on the line and just do what I've got to do."

Double world sprint champion Tyson Gay accepts he must keep answering questions about doping.

"I just try to focus on training," said the 25-year-old American, who completed a sweep of the men's 100 and 200 on Sunday.

PROBLEM FACING

"It's your job to ask questions and it's our job to answer them. If it wasn't happening, then we wouldn't be in the situation. Unfortunately we have to face the problem and just hope that everything changes around."

Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown, who won the women's 100 with a time of 11.14, also hopes for a better future in athletics.

"I really hate talking about doping because I really don't think drugs belong in the sport," said the 26-year-old, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist over 200.

"A lot of athletes I think are competing clean like myself and I would just like to be competing in the belief that everybody in the race is running clean. I just wish that the sport could be cleaner so we could have fun."

Graham was indicted in 2006 on three counts of lying to federal agents in a 2004 interview about his relationship with Angel Heredia.

Heredia, according to court documents, is expected to testify that he provided Graham with banned performance-enhancing drugs and handed similar drugs to athletes referred by Graham.