Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor

Mills - File

BEIJING:

HEAD TRACK and field coach, Glen Mills, has described the overall atmosphere in the Jamaica camp as good, six days ahead of the start of competition at the Beijing Olympic Stadium.

While there have been reports of disharmony and dissent by some athletes and a dispute between the MVP Track Club and the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) which has still not been completely settled, Mills said yesterday that most people were in 'high spirits' at the training camp in the Chinese city of Tianjin, 69 miles southeast of Beijing

"So far the athletes have settled in and training is proceeding well. The overall atmosphere is good," said Mills.

The veteran coach said it was a 'bit humid' but Jamaicans were no strangers to heat.

"We are coping. We just have to take our liquids so that we do not get dehydrated," he said

Mills who is also the coach of world 100 metres record holder Usain Bolt had high hopes for the lanky 21-year-old when he confronts the sprint double.

bolt considered a cinch

Bolt, who turns 22 on August 21, is considered a cinch for the 200m gold here, but will have his hands full against former world record holder Asafa Powell and the World Champion, American Tyson Gay, in the 100m which starts with the heats on Friday. Mills would not be drawn into making any predictions.

"I am not a speculator but I expect him (Bolt) to do well," he said.

Head of the ten-strong medical team, Dr Praimanand Singh, like Mills, discounted the heat factor although high temperatures and humidity have combined to put a thick gray cover over the city for many weeks.

"I do not think that's (the heat) a problem. We are drinking a lot of fluids and nobody is really complaining," said Praimanand.

minor injury to hyman

There was, Praimanand said, one minor injury worry with one athlete but the rest were all well.

"Mardrea Hyman has a strain to one of her calf muscles but that's not anything we expect to cause any problems. She should be well and be competing," he concluded. Hyman is down to compete in the gruelling 3000m steeplechase.

Meanwhile, manager of Jamaica's lone cycling competitor at the Games, Vaughn Phang, said rider Ricardo Lynch was performing much better than last year and he was 'hopeful' of a good show when the rider bows into competition on Friday in the keirin.

"We have been doing a combination of track work and gym work since the rider came in on Wednesday," Phang said.

"He has been working out every day but not intense stuff, just enough to get rid of the rigours of the travelling," he said.

Phang added that his positive feeling was based on the fact that Lynch was second in the World Cup in February and "it is the same set of guys he will be riding against". "But the event that he is doing has a lot to do with both speed and tactical awareness."

Phang was quick to point out that Lynch does not have the experience of most of his rivals but, with some financial help from Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica in recent months, things have been looking up.

"His results are reflecting a good amount of preparation and improvement in his approach to the race," Phang said..

hopeful

"We are very hopeful. To qualify on a world stage is a big achievement for us. We just want him to give the best that he can give," the cycling manager said.

Lynch is being prepared here by German coach Rene Schmidt of the World Cycling Centre in Switzer-land. The 23-year-old is a student at the school.

Cycling, as far as Jamaica's overall performance is concerned, has some pedigree in the Olympics. It is the only sport outside track and field that has gained a medal for the country. David Weller won bronze in the 1,000m time trial in 1980.