Slaney to be invited
to run in Waikiki Mile

The USATF has lifted its ban
so she can run in events
sanctioned by that body

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Mary Slaney, whose suspension from competition was lifted Tuesday by track and field's national governing body, will be invited back to the Nike P.L.A.Y. Waikiki Mile on Dec. 13.

Honolulu Marathon Association president Dr. Jim Barahal, whose organization stages the elite race on Kalakaua Ave., said last night that he has no problem with inviting Slaney despite the fact that the International Amateur Athletic Federation maintains its ban on her.

"We're under the auspices of USATF (United States Track and Field), and if USATF has cleared her, I see no reason why she can't compete here," Barahal said. "I imagine that she will also be exonerated by the IAAF."

Slaney, 39, tested positive for high levels of testosterone in June 1996 and was suspended by USATF just before last summer's U.S. outdoor championships. She also was barred from the world championships in Greece.

Slaney finished second to Sonia O'Sullivan if Ireland in last December's Waikiki Mile, beating all of her top U.S. female rivals.

"She ran great here last year and that was the start of her renaissance," Barahal said. "Sure, we want her back."

Slaney went on to win the U.S. indoor 1,500-meter title in February and finished second in the world indoor championship.

She also won the Millrose Games mile this year with a time of 4:26.7 -- the fastest time indoors at that distance in three years.

"She's been a star forever and I hated seeing her career ended this way -- so I'm glad it's not going to be," Honolulu Marathon race director Dr. Jon Cross said. "There aren't that many heroes left, and it was hard to see this happen to her."

Slaney is scheduled to run in the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York Sept. 27.

Barahal said he doesn't doubt the accuracy of Slaney's positive test, but said, "This is not a drug test in the classical sense, where you test for a specific substance like steroids. Testosterone is a naturally occurring substance in women and men and its ratio is affected by a number of things. Slaney had a lot of health problems, including asthma, last year. It's possible medication could've had something to do with it.

"This (the Slaney case) doesn't fit the pattern of someone who abuses a substance. Slaney was a prodigy. At 13, 14 years old she was breaking records. This is not someone who was struggling and suddenly is a world-class performer."