No heats and Kalmer in semis

2008-08-20 22:06

Adnaan Mohamed

Beijing - South Africa's René Kalmer will compete in the Olympic Games 1 500m semi-finals here on Thursday without having run in a heat.

The heats were due to be held on Tuesday but were cancelled after several athletes had allegedly tested positively for illegal substances.

Kalmer wrote on her Beijing blog that it was "actually funny that I'll be taking part in an Olympic Games semi-final without even putting a foot on the track.

"With athletes from Russia and Rumania and one from Bulgaria testing positive our heats were cancelled. I now go straight into the semi-finals."

She does not know whether it was an ideal way of preparing for the event because she planned to get a feeling of the track during a race.

"I have mixed feelings about it because the heats would have been a nice way of breaking the ice.

"The semi-finals will be tough, with everyone going flat out to reach the final."

Kalmer has had a thigh injury but she says she was fortunate to have had a few days to recover.

She was also tested for performance-enhancing drugs.

"I am glad that the IAAF is so strict about the use of drugs," she said. "There is a fine of $100 000 that a federation has to pay when one of its athletes tests positive."

No comment could be obtained from the Beijing Olympic Committee.

- Die Burger