Tom Lappin - 'Heroes' of track and field need shaken out of their complacency

THERE'S a note of queasy self-congratulation about "Team GB" as they fly back from the Beijing Olympics to the dying chords of Jimmy Page's guitar. In some quarters, satisfaction with what has been achieved is perfectly justified. And then there's the track and field team.

Gateshead is a long way, geographically, ideologically and aesthetically, from the Beijing Bird's Nest, but is the venue for what UK Athletics is billing as the "Return Of The Heroes" at the Aviva Grand Prix on Sunday.

Now the lead-in times for marketing slogans can be cruel, but the heroes in this case can be boiled down to a short list of three, only one of them an actual winner. Tasha Danvers defied the doubters to pick up a creditable bronze. Germaine Mason won a high jump silver without the benefit of lottery funding. Christine Ohuruogu was only competing because her appeal forced the British authorities to acknowledge that missing drugs tests was not quite the same as testing positive. Otherwise Nigeria might have a 400 metre gold.

Instead of a celebration, Gateshead should be a chastening reminder of just how significantly UK Athletics has to change if it is not to be an embarrassment in London in four years' time.

Asked to assess the current state of UK athletics in recent days, two eminently qualified pundits, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram, offered grim diagnoses, visibly unimpressed with the current crop, and short on optimistic enthusiasm about the junior ranks.

Cram spoke about the lack of strength in depth, allowing mediocre athletes to bask in an assurance that they would make the UK team, regardless.

In Athens, four good-to-middling 100 metre British sprinters won a relay gold. In Beijing the team missed out on a likely medal because of the cluelessness of Craig Pickering in the semi-final. Marlon Devonish, like Christian Malcolm, one of the older generation whose dedication maximised their abilities, was generous to Pickering, taking the blame on behalf of the team. In effect though, a significant degree of investment, training and dedication was wasted because of Pickering's lack of concentration.

One of the least edifying displays came from Martyn Rooney. Rooney had already demonstrated his limitations with a lacklustre run in the 400 metre final, compounded by a flippant "oh well" attitude in the post-race interview. In the relay semi-final, he waved the baton taunting the runners-up (who had declined to chase him, saving their energies for the final), and indulging in that charmless footballer's gesture of putting a finger to his lips as if to silence those who would question his ability.

Perhaps the most generous interpretation of this behaviour is that Rooney is an immature idiot. The remedy may be to force him to spend some time in the company of Chris Hoy. In one of his few persuasive statements in recent months, the Prime Minister mentioned Hoy's quiet modesty. It's not false modesty either. Hoy knows how incredible his achievements are; he also has the humility to applaud the efforts of those who chase him to the line.

If Rooney had been a cyclist, his attitude, not to mention his limited athletic abilities, would have seen him weeded out long before he reached the team. It's too late to introduce that level of ruthlessness to track and field, but it's apparent that some athletes need to be kicked out of their complacency.

It is no coincidence that Ohuruogu and Mason arrived at the Games with their resolve strengthened by adversity, with a point to prove. After his triple-jump silver, Phillips Idowu carried his disappointment around like a black cloud, proof of his whole-hearted commitment to his solitary goal.

Time will bring a sense of perspective, but perspective is for retired athletes who can put their achievements into context. Idowu's misery rather than Rooney's sanguine acceptance is the recipe for success at the next Olympiad.

Those who sign the cheques should take note.