Athletics: Bailey questions Gardener's chances of gold

Jason Gardener went some way towards making his case as an Olympic contender by winning the 60 metres title at the World Indoor Championships that finished here on Sunday. But, according to Canada's former world and Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey, he has a way to go.

The 28-year-old Bath athlete's achievement in securing a global title to go with the golds he has earned at the European Indoor Championships was the high point of a British campaign that saw the team earn just one other medal, courtesy of Jo Fenn in the 800m - although had Kelly Holmes not fallen in the 1500m and Michael East not overstepped the rules to earn disqualification after finishing third in the men's metric mile, the enduring impression would have been far more favourable.

While Holmes maintains she is stepping out for the Olympics which begin in Athens on 13 August with renewed determination, Gardener, who saw off the challenge of the fast-finishing United States trials winner Shawn Crawford, is also striding out with palpably growing confidence. But Bailey, never shy to offer an opinion - this, after all, was the man who seven years ago called the double Olympic champion Michael Johnson "a faker and a chicken" after the American pulled up midway through their 150-metres challenge race in Toronto - voiced a cautious estimation of the British sprinter's potential.

"The 60m here was Jason's race to lose and he almost lost it," Bailey said. "Over the last 10 metres you saw him decelerating as Crawford closed. The rule of thumb in sprints is that you can't look out for anyone else. There is a lot of pressure on him, but he's definitely got to get out and hold his own."

Bailey, who lowered the world 100m record to 9.84sec in winning the 1996 gold at the Atlanta Olympics, believes the 100m taking place in the Athens Games is "wide open", adding: "There are probably six to eight guys now who could win and Jason is one of them.

"He's definitely established, and he's doing the right things - he's competing, he's working on his start, he's lifting weights. As long as he can transfer his 60m speed, there's no reason why he can't run the 100 in under 9.9 seconds, because running 6.4 corresponds to running sub-9.9."

The Irish have good reason to thank Scotland for securing their first World Indoor Championships medal, a distinction they achieved in the men's 400m relay bronze.

The Ireland quartet finished fourth in Sunday's final behind a US team that had lost the lead after their third runner had fallen heavily while trying to hand over to the man on the anchor leg. But Doug Gillon, a sportswriter for the Glasgow Herald, spotted that the final-leg runner had not made contact with the baton before he picked it up from the track, and ran down to inform the Irish team, who promptly lodged a protest. Result: US disqualification, Irish medal and drinks all round.