Nicolas Macrozonaris' name appears on a just released Athletics Canada Athlete Assistance Program Nomination List for 2006/2007. 

What this means is that after a year in which Macrozonaris received no financial assistance whatsoever from the Canadian federation, he will once again be eligible to be covered by a program that includes a monthly federal paycheck of roughly $1500 Cdn. as well as other entitlements, such as physio and massage therapy. 

With negotiations on a potential transfer to Greece hitting delays, legal snags and an October 31 looming deadline, it appears that he will, for now, be staying put in Canada.

Macrozonaris expressed relief yesterday upon learning the carding news, but that was all.  He certainly will not be humming along to the Beatles classic "Give Peace A Chance" any time soon.

At least not as far as Athletics Canada is concerned, whom he holds responsible for a lost year -- one where he even considered giving up the sport.

Yet despite all the difficulties, he managed to win a 3rd Canadian Championship last summer in Ottawa - a win he cherishes as one of his most memorable. 

Injury free and training at total capacity for the first time in a long time, Macrozonaris has been preparing for the upcoming indoor season since late last month, planning to run indoors as soon as the McGill University indoor meets in Montreal get under way. 

He and coach Daniel St-Hilaire have been focusing primarily on strength training of late, while next week the focus will shift to working on explosiveness and acceleration. 

It has been three years since Macrozonaris has enjoyed much of any notable success on the track, if measured by fast times.  His personal bests were all achieved in 2002-2003; he ran 6.56 seconds for 60m indoors in late November 2002 and followed that up in May of 2003 with his outdoor best of 10.03 sec. 

Since that time and injuries aside, he has worked out with a group in Florida as well as the Ottawa group of coach Glenroy Gilbert, and has entertained offers to train in Europe as well as other locales in Canada and the US. 

For the time being however, he has decided to stay put in Montreal under the tutelage of St-Hilaire, the man who led Macrozonaris to his successes three years ago. 

Macrozonaris also told us that he has never been as excited about an upcoming season as he is this year, and that his goal is to break his indoor 60m mark early. 

If he does that and manages to stay healthy, next summer's 100m campaign promises to be very interesting.

Originally published on HellenicAthletes.com

Needing to focus on the upcoming season and keep all other distractions to a minimum, I have decided to not pursue a final appeal otherwise available in my Sport Canada funding case.

We all compete with minor injuries from time to time.  An athlete in such a case who believes he may not meet a performance standard for a given year can, under the current system, simply choose to not compete for 4 months and apply for a medical card.  Under Athletics Canada’s non-subjective review, he stands a good chance of retaining his funding as long as he mails his application on time.

In the summer of 2005, after having missed most of the outdoor season due to a groin injury, I was mainly preoccupied with returning to competition as soon as possible, so that I could finish in the top 4 at nationals. I knew that if I did that, I would be in a position to help the 4x100m relay team in Helsinki, even if I could not perform at the highest level in the individual event.  The last thing on my mind was taking the summer off, a 4-month countdown and trip to Canada Post.

The goals I had set for myself for that year, despite my injury, were met.  I finished in the top-4 at nationals and did indeed travel to Helsinki and competed with the Canadian 4x100m team.  If I had to do it all over, I would do the same thing.

Athletics Canada officials, who sit comfortably in their offices earning much higher salaries than the athletes who enable that lifestyle, opted for the penny-wise but pound-foolish approach in my case, instead of taking a hard, critical look at all the facts as well as big picture. 

For the good of our sport, the process for assessing cases such as these in the future must change.  If it does not and a similar travesty is allowed to unfold, then someone at Athletics Canada must be held accountable.

Lastly, I want to thank my family, friends and the fans that have supported me throughout this ordeal.

*******

Conscient du besoin impératif de conserver toutes mes  énergies pour la réussite de la prochaine saison et pour éviter toutes les distractions et l’inconfort que cette situation pourrait causer, j’ai pris la décision de ne pas me rendre en appel final  devant  le Centre de Règlement des Différents Sportifs du Canada en ce qui a trait à mon cas concernant le programme d’assistance aux athlètes de Sport Canada.

Malgré certaines blessures mineures, les athlètes continuent á participer á des compétitions.  Selon le système actuel, un athlète blessé ne pouvant atteindre le standard minimum pour conserver son brevet pour l’année en cours, peut simplement choisir de ne pas participer à des compétitions pendant une période de 4 mois et recourir á une carte médicale. Selon la révision non subjective d'Athlétisme Canada, l’athlète conserve une bonne chance d’obtenir son aide financière á la condition qu’il achemine son formulaire á temps.

Pendant l’été 2005, j'étais principalement  préoccupé á guérir le plus rapidement possible une blessure á l 'aine afin de terminer parmi les 4 premiers athlètes au Championnats Canadiens. Je savais que si je réussissais, je serais en excellente position pour aider l'Équipe canadienne de relais du 4x100m á Helsinki, même si j’étais incapable  de performer á un niveau le plus élevé dans une épreuve individuelle. La dernière chose à laquelle je pensais, était de prendre congé pendant la saison estivale et d’amorcer un compte à rebours de 4 mois jusqu’au bureau de poste!

Malgré mes blessures, j’ai atteint tous les objectifs que je m’étais fixés.  J'ai terminé parmi les 4 premiers athlètes au pays et j’ai participé au relais 4x100 à Helsinki.    Si je pouvais retourner dans le temps…  je ferais la même chose.

Assis bien confortablement dans leurs bureaux climatisés, les fonctionnaires d’Athlétisme Canada, gagnent des salaires au détriment des athlètes qui suent eau et sang.  Athlétisme Canada a opté pour une approche de grippe-sous, une économie de bouts de chandelles au lieu d’adopter une ouverture d’esprit leur permettant d’avoir une image juste et une vue d’ensemble de la situation.

Pour la survie de notre sport, le processus d’évaluation pour des cas comme le mien doit changer.  Si la politique d’évaluation ne change pas, si une pareille situation se reproduit, alors quelqu’un à Athlétisme Canada doit être tenu responsable. 

En terminant, je désire remercier ma famille, mes amis et toutes les personnes qui m’ont démontré leur appui durant cette épreuve.

Nicolas Macrozonaris