putter Nick Ponzio says he's done

[gh]

????
if he says he's competing tomorrow, it's not a suspension?

[Awsi Dooger]

I wondered what was going on with Ponzio during indoor season. His results were poor and he didn't have a fraction of the joy. Every camera view was sourpuss.

[Davidokun]

I wondered what was going on with Ponzio during indoor season. His results were poor and he didn't have a fraction of the joy. Every camera view was sourpuss.

In his own words, via Instagram:

well, the rumors are true. I regret to inform everyone that with a heavy heart, I will be forcefully retiring from track and field indefinitely. tomorrows @drakerelays will more than likely be the final meet of my career. this isn’t my decision, nor is it what I want to do, but it is beyond my control. I will be making a video to explain everything in its entirety so everyone will understand very soon, when everything is official. I am currently being pushed out of the sport and no longer deemed acceptable to compete at the professional level for the foreseeable future. the last few months have been extremely difficult for me in a lot of ways, and it’s shown undoubtedly in my performances and my every day livelihood. i’ve lost a lot that once made me whole and fulfilled, and its truly been the lowest year of my life all around thus far. it’s wildly terrible what the powers at be have decided to do to athletes with the new rules that have set forth to punish athletes for petty crimes, all while turning a blind eye to extenuating circumstances and pleas. it unfortunately does not matter what I want or try to do any longer, and they no longer care. seems they’d rather see the sport die, by banishing young talent, than to see it flourish. I wish I could continue to be “the showman” for all of you, and make you all enjoy watching our beloved sport with smiles on your faces, but at this time, those with control say it cannot be so. thank you all for everything. I hope you all enjoyed what I had to offer, for the short time I was given the opportunity to do so.

[mgallagh43]

Good singlet for the presumed last time out
out. Guessing Monday will bring an official announcement from.. somewhere.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Crqi4iXOspC/

[ATK]

Interview after Drake Relays. Still keeping things vauge and not sure about what's next.

https://youtu.be/2-Yf7Ym1mp0

[Davidokun]

Good singlet for the presumed last time out

A sponsor?

Not Dead Yet

[Atticus]

Whereabouts probs?

[ATK]

Ponzio explains the whole situation in two videos:

Part 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr9tISvtHIG/?hl=en
Part 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr9uyFSNwsk/?hl=en

TLDR: He's facing 2 year ban for 3 whereabouts violations due to a broken cell phone and being unable to update his whereabouts in the ADAMS app used by European athletes

[El Toro]

Ponzio explains the whole situation in two videos:

Part 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr9tISvtHIG/?hl=en
Part 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr9uyFSNwsk/?hl=en

TLDR: He's facing 2 year ban for 3 whereabouts violations due to a broken cell phone and being unable to update his whereabouts in the ADAMS app used by European athletes

It's really unfortunate that USA athletes are under threat of immediate arrest and heavy criminal sanctions in Europe for borrowing a phone, a computer, or evening swapping their SIM into a newly purchased phone. It's clearly an anti-USA conspiracy...

[mgallagh43]

Figured. Someone closer to the contemporary system can correct me but ADAMS used to have a web-based app so you could access from a computer.. I am not the biggest fan of the whereabouts system as it exists but really?

[Dave]

Athletics continues its march to irrelevance.

[LuckySpikes]

Athletics continues its march to irrelevance.

Eh? Because an athlete (supposedly) had a broken phone?

[Cooter Brown]

Were all 3 missed tests on the same day? Who doesn't replace their phone within a day or two?

I'd bet you'll find social media posts by him in his missed test windows which he was miraculously able to do from a broken phone.

[Atticus]

Athletics continues its march to irrelevance.

The fact that WA makes zero effort to make the connection . . .
The onus is definitely on the athlete, but yeah, WA keeps shooting itself in the foot. Wasn't R Ross IN Eugene for the WC when the 3rd came?

[ItalianFan]

He came to Italy 10 years too late! Or he could have claimed he sent a fax that FIDAL had lost somewhere, or that FIDAL's fax was broken for a few days.....The good old times when ADAMS was banned in Italy because in violation of privacy national rules.