The long-awaited opening of the 2012 Olympics is almost upon us, our athletes are about to reach the Olympic village, but for a few days it has been official that on the plane that will take them to London there will be a major absentee, Andrew Howe. For the 27-year-old from Rieti of US origins, a natural talent for speed, a symbol of Italian athletics, the most famous and likeable (not only for the TV commercials), the one who never gives up and starts over again each time amidst suffering and smiles, I am the Absolutes of Bressanone nine days ago were fatal, the last chance to establish the right time to detach the pass for the Olympics.
Howe, back on track almost a year after his last serious injury (on July 27, 2011 he broke his Achilles tendon in training after surgery the previous year) with the desire for redemption and rebirth after months of work , however, the sad and mocking verdict was slammed in the face. According to Fidal's criteria, Andrew should have run the 200m in 20”65, he tried twice, but without luck: in the heat, held back by a very strong wind, he pushed hard but stopped at 21"03 and in the final, two hours later, with still unfavorable environmental conditions, he won in 20”76, a performance which however was not enough, but according to the experts without the wind problem it would have been sufficient.
To increase the humiliation and disappointment, as well as the impossibility of running the 200m, the athlete was also denied participation in the 4×100m relay for which he had immediately given availability convinced that he could give a big hand to the team. The motivation, in agreement between Fidal and Coni, was communicated by the coach Francesco Uguagliati and is based on the fact that the only possibility would have been that Howe from here to the Games would have had to participate, like everyone else, in two rallies in Formia and at the Montecarlo test on Friday the 20th, conditions to which he renounced.
But according to some, the impression is that the problem is political and relationship more than technical and arises from the fact that the boy has always chosen to be coached by his mother (former hurdler Renée Felton) and not by other technicians closer to the federation, which perhaps could have helped him in this intricate affair. The joke for Howe is that Diego Marani and Davide Manenti were called up to London for the 4×100, both preceded by the native of Los Angeles in the final in Bressanone last week.
Coni and Fidal therefore did not give discounts even to the most representative sample, respecting the line adopted, in truth, also with other excluded athletes despite having even better requisites and deeming it impossible to make exceptions, even if it is one of the banners of the whole movement (Italian long jump record holder with 8,47 m ., European champion in 2006 and vice world champion in 2007).
The decision has obviously made a lot of noise these days and the supporters of the colored Italian made themselves heard through the various social networks and information bodies, arguing that a derogation in this case had to be granted and in any case there should have been more respect for a boy who was able to start from scratch every time, between sweat and gyms, but always with a smile; it could have been an opportunity to reward a symbol of tenacity and passion and instead it was a disappointment, yet another in the mocking destiny of this predestined ex.
Among other things, Howe, after a year spent recovering from a serious injury, in May 2011 at the Golden Gala in Rome was able to obtain the minimum time for Iaaf standards (an excellent 20''31, best European seasonal performance), but the federation has imposed on all athletes a confirmation in the Olympic year; the regulations are the regulations, but that only adds to Andrew's regrets. Unfortunately, this is only the latest episode of a career that so far has given him moments of joy and many victories, but during which too often bad luck, whether it's a muscle problem, a tendon that jumps or a foot that swells, she raged against him, that misfortune that often ran fast, even faster than him.
In fact, briefly retracing the most important stages of Howe's career to date, they are many important competitions that he had to miss or to which he often arrived in non-optimal physical conditions. Already at his Olympic debut at the Athens 2004 Games, after passing the first round, he was unable to reach the final of the 200m because he was conditioned by pain in his foot, while four years later he showed up in Beijing after two months of inactivity due to of a muscle injury and fails even to reach the final in the long run, his specialty.
Subsequently he suffers another muscle injury which prevents him from participating in the 2009 World Cup in Berlin and shortly after he underwent his first Achilles tendon surgery in Finland. On 25 June 2011, after a disappointing performance in anticipation of the World Championships in Daegu, he officially announced that he had stopped competing in the long jump, the discipline that made him famous, having in his opinion reached the maximum he could give with silver at the World Championships in Osaka, and that from that day on he would dedicate himself only to speed, even though he knew he was very far from the strongest athletes.
A month later, however, in Rieti, as already mentioned, something that shouldn't happen happens: the left achilles tendon betrays him again, he has to undergo a new operation and the competitive season is compromised. Then it's recent history, with the return to the races in Doha on May 11 with the aim of arriving ready for London, but the performances, due to the persistence of the tendon discomfort, are what they are and so we arrive at the final disappointment from last week.
A few days ago Andrew, really furious and embittered, wanted to express his disappointment with CONI in an interview, asserting that even a blind man would have seen that his performance was worth participating in the Games, considering the poor environmental conditions and the little recovery between one race and another, emphasizing the work done to arrive in a good state of shape, since six months earlier he had been riding on crutches. The Rieti once again invoked greater respect for him and would have liked everything to be done to make him participate instead of simply accepting the situation.
He also added that evidently according to someone there would not have been the possibility of getting to a medal anyway and therefore it was not worth banging too much, recalling, however, that this is the third Olympics that for one reason or another goes up in smoke and concluding that, with regard to the possibility of running the relay, the tests and training sessions that he would have had to undergo in these days until the departure for the Games they would have been too hard to hold up for his not yet 100% physique, not even having the certainty of a starting position.
As in all divisive discussions, and since in this case there is a boy who has the power to divide perhaps only equal to that of Federica Pellegrini, while on the one hand a real crusade has even started on Facebook (the page "We want Andrew Howe in London"), which also carries forward the reasons for eight other athletes who can register for the Olympics but who, by not respecting the criteria set by Fidal, cannot have been summoned, on the other hand they wanted to answer that in this case it is a question of consistency and respect for clear rules that have been known for months.
All those of this party, while pointing out errors of assessment of a federation that if it finds itself with a small group of athletes it means that it has failed in its task and admitting that the current minimum results for qualifying are increasingly restrictive, perhaps too much, do note how the fact of not bringing athletes in excess, almost as if it were a prize trip, is the right choice within a team certainly not up to par with other nations. For completeness, actually three exceptions to the criteria have been made: the exclusions of the pole vaulter Anna Giordano Bruno and the jumper Silvano Chesani (although they had the minimum requirements) and instead the summoning of walker Giorgio Rubino, a potential podium finisher who ran the risk of being excluded for failing just one race.
As far as Howe is concerned, he is accused of not having been able to confirm himself this season also due, according to some, to a wicked scheduling that led him to an unnecessary and forced appearance in Doha, first in the long run and then fall back on 200, besides the fact that his summoning would have required an exception to the rule which at that point had to be granted to all those close to the minimum required, while for the relay race the problem is the lack of availability at rallies, but in this regard we they are conflicting versions. Naturally this was also the occasion for all the detractors of the twenty-seven year old from Rieti, who didn't hesitate to accuse him of being a fit, more TV personality than all-round athlete, one who thinks he is the strongest of them all, but as a senior he never achieved any significant results in speed tests , while he abandoned jumping without a valid reason, the discipline in which he could continue to achieve something important. But Andrew Howe is used to all these things and he will certainly start again this time, faster than before.
