Imagine, you’ve just won a major decision overturning a doping conviction. What do you do next?
Well, if you’re Jeff Adams, you start training in earnest in order to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games that will be held in Beijing starting in early September. In a press conference Tuesday in Toronto, Adams announced his plans to qualify for Beijing, and he answered reporters questions about the ordeal he’s lived through the last two years. As TheStar.com reports:
“I was interested to see how many of you would show up for the good news story,” Adams joked in his opening remarks.
Adams laid out his plans for the near term (from a video on same page, I can’t link to the video too easily, but it’s definitely worth a look):
I’ve got two huge goals for the very near future. The first one is to get back on the track and qualify for Beijing to represent my country. I’m incredibly grateful to the CAS panel for clearing my name and letting me get back to doing what I do best — going around in circles fast.
Despite his high spirits at yesterday’s press conference, the past two years has not been easy on Adams.
“There have been so many moments during this process where I wanted to quit, but knowing that there’s a barrier in front of you and knowing it’s the courage to confront those barriers that makes you into the person you need to be has kept me fighting this fight,” he said. “That’s what helped to convince me to fight for a spot on the team to Beijing.
Getting a spot on the team will take some hard work. And Adams has roughly 6 weeks to qualify for the Beijing Games. From the press conference video, he notes:
[I]t’s no secret that there are some enormous barriers in front of me and I’m facing some very serious obstacles. One of the realities of being under suspension is that you are completely taken out of the system. So I had zero access to funding, I had zero access to training with other athletes and I had zero access to coaching. And that alone is an enormous, enormous barrier.
Not having been at the press conference (Toronto is a bit far afield for someone in Milwaukee to reach on short notice), I sent Jeff an email what it would take to qualify and what kind of shape he’s currently in. Here’s his reply:
I’m in pretty good shape […] I have offices in the Cervélo building, and access to an army of really keen bike guys, including some pretty hard-core ex couriers, so I’ve been training with them on and off – I’m at about 90% of where I think I could be. I did two test sessions in the last couple of weeks with two of the top Canadians – Josh Cassidy and Mark Ledo – Josh went under the world record in the 5000m last season, and Mark won a big road race called Gasparilla earlier this year, so they’re in the mix and good to use as benchmarks, Josh for short sprint stuff and Mark for speed endurance – anyway, I came around Josh at the end of an interval session – we did 4x400m intervals with 15 seconds recovery in between each one, and the 4x800m with the same recovery, so it was a good threshold test. With Mark I did 10x 3minutes with 1minute recovery, and was waiting for him the whole time – I rode him off my wheel on the last interval.
Sounds like he’s in very good shape and has gotten some good training in, despite the limitations that being under suspension have imposed. Adams is targeting the 1500 meter distance. To compete in Beijing he needs to achieve two times under 3:02 to qualify for an automatic berth on the Canadian team, or he needs to go under 3:05 once and hope that Athletics Canada names him to the team. Adams has clocked times under 3:02 six times in the past.
In addition to being able to keep in reasonably good condition, one other thing Adams has working in his favor is a one-of-a-kind carbon fiber racing wheelchair. No other racer he competes against is racing an all carbon fiber chair, they’re all on aluminum chairs which are several pounds heavier than Adams’. The lighter weight of his wheelchair will work in his favor as he tries to make the team. (Note: If you look closely at his wheelchair, you may notice some Cervélo hardware — but you’ve got to look really closely.)
But the challenges of making the Canadian Paralympic team was not the only thing on Jeff Adams’ mind yesterday. At the press conference he outlined his another goal he has after coming through this ordeal:
The second goal that I have is to be a champion for change within the sports system. We really need to acknowledge the way the system engages against athletes, and we need to change that because that’s not how we do things as Canadians. I hope I can be a catalyst for change in that way. And this whole process has helped to reinforce, to myself, that is that I work hard, I stand up for what I believe in and I finish what I start.
Via email, I also asked what his first reaction to the decision was. He told me:
When I first heard the decision, I was just really confused – it didn’t and still doesn’t make sense, and is obviously a politically motivated decision. The message that they’ve sent is that there is no way that any athlete should try to defend based on innocence, because it will ruin you financially.
Adams attorneys estimate that defending his reputation has cost upwards of $700,000, which is an enormous cost. And one that many simply could not afford. Given that high cost, I asked, what could be done to provide athletes who can’t afford such a burden with legal assistance?
We’re also going to try to have an ombud position established and a fund for the defense of athletes, because right now, it’s impossible for an athlete to defend – we’ve got tons of examples of athletes representing themselves in front of tribunals and squaring off against the high priced lawyers for the CCES [Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport] on their own – it totally brings the administration of justice into disrepute.
As was reported yesterday, Tim Danson (Adams’ lawyer) and his partners are offering a financial incentive to Jeff to motivate him to make the Canadian team. They will be reducing their fees by $100,000 should he make the team, and (as reported yesterday) his legal fees will be reduced by $50,000 if he wins a medal in Beijing. At the press conference, Adams shot back, “Is that a medal of any colour?”
Today, he has an answer. On further reflection, Danson and his partners have modified the incentive. If he wins a bronze or a silver, legal fees will be reduced by $50,000 and if he wins gold, they will up that figure to $100,000. So if Adams qualifies for Beijing and brings home a gold medal, his legal fees will be reduced by $200,000. There’s a bit of pressure, eh? Somehow, I have a hunch that Jeff will rise to the occasion.
