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Sotomayor set to strike gold - coach
Roman SYDNEY, Sept 14 (AFP) - Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor is fighting fit and poised to win the Olympic title following his comeback from a drug ban, his coach Guillermo de la Torre told AFP Thursday. On Wednesday Sotomayor expressed doubts about his condition after returning to competition when his ban for testing positive for cocaine was lifted early, allowing him to compete in an Olympics he would otherwise have missed. But de la Torre has no doubt that his protege is the man to beat when the high jump competition commences in Stadium Australia. "He has not taken part in many competitions because we had to start late after waiting for the IAAF decision (to curtail Sotomayor's ban)," said the coach. "But his preparation was good, even while his participation (in the Olympics) had not been approved and I rate him very highly in the stakes to win the gold medal." De la Torre's confidence in the world record holder and 1992 Olympic champion was in marked contrast to the reservations expressed by Sotomayor himself who said Wednesday on arrival in Australia that he thought even a bronze medal would be an achievement. Even the Cuban Federation president and Sports Minister Humberto Rodriguez had claimed Tuesday that the giant athlete was not in the right psychological frame of mind because of the time he was suspended from competition. But de la Torre believes that his charge is fighting fit both mentally and physically. "There still remains some insecurity but we have worked with the psychologist, with the specialists and with the entire entourage and we have helped him deal with everything he has had to resolve, because we know he was innocent and for this reason we were very affected by this situation," said de la Torre. It was in the Panamerican Games in Winnipeg last year that Sotomayor returned a positive test for cocaine - a charge he still denies - and was given a two-year ban. But two months ago the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) reduced by the one year - a move that earned widespread criticism, notably from Canadian lawyer Dick Pound, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and president of the fledgling World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) who believes it set a dangerous precedent. De la Torre echoed the belief of Sotomayor on what mark will be needed to lift gold in Stadium Australia. "To win he must get in the region of 2.38m. And he can do it," said the coach of his charge whose world record mark of 2.45m was set back in 1993. Sotomayor's best time in what has been a short season given his ban was a 2.30m posted in Monaco on August 18 whereas in Yokohama, Japan on September 9 he managed 2.28m. De la Torre believed Sydney could be the best Olympics yet for the star-studded Cuban team. "It is possible to beat our record medals haul for one Games. The athletes have arrived well prepared," he said.
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