Sprinter Evan O’Hanlon’s new 100m world record set at the Brisbane Track Classic on the weekend is unlikely to be ratified by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Set at the Brisbane Track Classic on the weekend, O’Hanlon, who holds the current 100m world record of 10.96 in the T38 class for athletes with cerebral palsy, ran 0.05 of a second quicker than his PB to set the world mark at 10.91.

But as drug tests were not taken and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) was not present, it is unlikely the IPC will ratify the time. The time will instead sit as an unofficial world record.

“For a world record to stand it needs to be an IPC sanctioned event, three or more athletes need to compete, it must have electronic timing, a wind gauge and officials and there needs to be drug testing,” said Athletics Australia’s Paralympic Preparation Program Manager, Andrew Faichney.

“Unfortunately the one we didn’t have was the drug testing.”

While Athletics Australia will still submit the appropriate paperwork to the IPC, historically the IPC does not ratify world records if drug testing controls are not in place.

"Unfortunately, due to the fact that there were not doping controls in place, we cannot ratify the world record set by Evan at the Brisbane Track Classic,” said IPC Media and Communications Senior Manager, Craig Spence.

"It will therefore stand an unofficial world record."

Although the time will not be official, it remains an accurate indicator of O’Hanlon’s blistering form at the start of the Paralympic year.

“Evan is in very exciting form and will be one of the athletes to watch in London,” said Faichney.

O’Hanlon, who trains at the Australian Institute of Sport, made his Paralympic debut in Beijing four years ago and won three gold medals in world record time including the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. At the IPC Athletics World Championships in 2011, he again won the 100m and 200m as well as a silver in the 400m and bronze in the 4x100m relay.

By APC Media
Posted 18/1/2012