 Yeah, we begin this Wednesday edition of the Sports Mike Zone with Track and Field after being slapped with a 30-month ban. Jamaican court minor Christopher Taylor says he feels there is no place in the sport for him anymore. The 24-year-old was found guilty of violating Article 2.3 of the World Antidoping Agency's Code, which speaks to evading, refusing or failing to submit a sample collection. Taylor, a Tokyo Olympic and Eugene World Championship finalist, will be eligible to compete again in May 2025, but given his current state of mind, will he make a return to the sport? Here to help us discuss his regional track and field expert, Hubert Lawrence. Hubert, you know, I've heard this discussion and in a way it has caught me by surprise. I do understand the comments that were made by Chris Taylor suggesting that he doesn't know if he wants to continue, but when you look at it, a lot of athletes have made successful returns from suspensions. 2025 watched him win the primary school 2-4 double in 2012. He's been active every year since that time, all through championships, COVID year 2020, but Olympics 21, World Champs 22. So this is the first year since those days that he has missed. It's the cornerstone of his life running track and field. If you talk to him, he loves to run in front of the big stage. In Heroics, World Youth Championship, you know all the stats on Chris. And so I think right now is someone broken hearted. This is the cornerstone of his life and it's not going to be there through 23, this year is gone, through 24, through 25. That means he misses the Olympic Games, he was in the finals, what now, three years ago and he misses also the World Champs in Tokyo maybe. So he's broken hearted and maybe with time that heart will meet. So you're suggesting whether he returns or whether he makes a successful return is more psychological than it will be physical? It's emotional because he's missing a sport which is given a lot, lots of excitement and so he can't do that now and he's feeling that separation from the sport he loves. Now 25 is not that far away. For us who watch the sport and watch lots of different people but for him, Ricardo, for him Mariah, it's a big break in activities because he's missed 23 and 24 and will miss someone 25. So do you think he can make a successful return? I think so. There are cases where the break has been longer, where the candidate has come back, has made a slow start to the comeback, but has come back to be very, very successful. And so Chris is younger, just turned 24, October the first and I think if he's back at 26 years old. Well when he returns he'll be 25, he'll be 26 later that year. Just coming into his prime and I think he can come back and if you want to rub out that blot on your record to prove to people that boy you really are a clean athlete then at that time you take up the challenge but it's grief and right now he's feeling it individually and when he speaks now that's the individualized grief that he's feeling from missing the sport he loves. Yeah we speak about him being at the peak now and if he's emotional and grieving how does he bounce back because that means when you're going through an emotional period you're not really going to do the things that are necessary like the training and keeping your body up to par as the where it would need to be we've spoken that you know 25 he'll still be young and he can still do the things but Hubert where does he find that inner drive to keep himself and get himself ready for the time. He has a tight circle around him I know him from his calabar days as a family of people who help keep him on track and I guess those people plug back into him now and keep him upright in the break and what does he do between then and now when I interviewed him for the champs preview 2019 he talked about school he talked about going pro right out of high school but also at some point doing school maybe that's what fills the time in between some sort of course of study and he has had some injuries that have held him back while he's been running the body heals naturally he comes back refreshed and starting maybe late 24 you start to train for 25 and then you keep on going but right now he's broken-hearted yeah one more question they said that his competitive results from November 16 2022 to January 2023 will be disqualified what are some of those prizes that he would have lost nothing nothing okay because I was concerned I was wondering like you know because that would add to the emotional and I always wondered what what happened to him because part of the narrative is of Chris traveling out of Norman Manley and being met by the dope and control people and I wonder if at some point some mitigating circumstances might come because what do you do are you traveling are you staying if you take the test if you stop and spend an hour doing this thing you miss your flight so I wonder if this is the end of the matter so far for Chris now but hopefully with time that broken heart will heal that love is always had for track and field will will grow in his heart again young man Jamaica with him got silver in the four by four in 2022 the only men's medal in the world champs in Eugene and I think he has a role to play the future yeah for sure and and and yes you were to answer your question the matter is complete and now it's for him to do his time which is two and a half years 30 months and make a decision if he does return you did make the point though about how much running Chris Taylor has done from he was at primary school right through to high school competing not just throughout the high school season which is January to about April but all the way through the summer and making junior national teams and even in cases winning a senior championship as a junior and we were watching him not far from making the Olympic team in 2016 there you go schoolboy so there is some mileage yeah and maybe it's never good to be banned but maybe there is rest and respite from the wear and tear and the Chris Taylor we get back in 2025 might be rested and with a chip on his shoulder with something to prove yeah and given what we've seen I think generally over time that period 25 to let's say 28 is generally looked at as a peak period for athletes if you still have the motivation if you're still willing to put the training in and so he still comes back at a good time age-wise yeah the following world youth champion is Antonio Watson yeah so Jamaica goes for that four by four if Chris does come back with two champions what's in his world champion now waiting to take over can he with time recover the enthusiasm to go that 5 a.m. in the morning go to the weight room break your back come back in evening and put in the mileage and the laps and the sprint work and go back the next morning yeah if he were to come back for the six month band maybe no but in a couple of years there's time for him to recover I think yeah one of well I think the most difficult thing for any athlete in a situation like this is when you lose your sponsorship as he said in an interview last week he has lost his Puma sponsorship so that's income that we're talking about how would you advise him to proceed over the next year and a half well first things first did he save any money does he have money put up he can go to school in the meantime will family come to a shoulder family maybe we'll have jobs that he could do to keep him going in between yeah because when you have no money that's dreadful does he have to come back home to Jamaica will he incur rental costs to live come a steeple is groceries so it's difficult but I think what I know about his support group he'll survive he'll be okay I certainly hope so quite apart from track is a young man with lots of potential on and off the track if you talk to him and you wish for him the best yeah I don't know how much you heard of exactly what happened that of course led to the violation and subsequently the suspension but what do you think of the whole sequence of events yeah we heard about the airport incident and it shows how serious doping control is it's not so much wearables they've come to check you three times back-to-back at your home or your training location or something I not found you and so the third one kicks off a positive doping result it is that because he is traveling he doesn't stop to take the doping test and that's construed as a refusal to take the test or a desire to evade the test as if you're hiding something and so for the other youngsters other veterans in the sport looking at this that shows you again how grave this thing is how this thing can stop in your track this is an Olympic finalist yes this is a world finalist this is a youth world youth champion and here he is beaten down by what he may feel is a convergence of ill circumstances but ultimately a lesson to learn absolutely Ricardo above how you handle these situations this is why I table it so those who are saying well Chris Salty man this is the situation you're face now would have been better had he missed his flight taking the test gotten a negative and paid to reschedule his flight or flown the next day and you have to say it would be it definitely would you were at lines thank you very much for joining us on the sports max zone your best friend is across the room and we're gonna have a quick check in with him because he has all the horse racing information we're great to have Hubert in our studios came out spark is calling all Kings and Queens it's time to unleash your inner royalty on Saturday at the second staging of the richest horse race in the English-speaking Caribbean the mood a mile the post-position draw took place on Tuesday night at the Rock Hotel in Downs downtown Kingston and this is how the 16 entrance will be lining up let's have a look at the post position drawn out she's my destiny who was the gold cup winner is in post position one blue vinyl a double classic winner last year in post position two in the three-box Mamma Mia who won the 1000 Guinness and the Oaks this year mahogany top rated second in the gold cup this year the gold cup winner last year also in the field we have runaway Algo who is coming off 10 career wins five of those wins this year mojito won the 2000 Guinness this year and Atomic of course in the 10 box the horse of the year and on a five race winning streak one of the favorites for the event in the 11 box we have Duke who was a surprise second-place finisher in last year's moot a mile the field also includes the number 13 horse perfect draw who has one of two foreign riders in the field Daisuke Fukumoto who is from Japan rides at Woodbine in Canada will be riding perfect brew for trainer Richard Azan American tap is one of the foreign entries here from the Howard Jageye stables American tap one on its K-Manus Bar debut a couple of weeks ago rough entry is considered by many to be the favorite here this horse is based in Florida and rough entry has eight wins in Florida two of the wins coming already this year and the French rider Julian Le Peru will be aboard and the 16 horse is ability who was an upset winner of the Derby back in August so a very very strong 16 horse field here and most of the trainers I would think would be reasonably happy with the post position draw and executive chairman of the SVR EL Solomon shop SVR EL of course the promoters of racing in Jamaica shop is stating that the changes that have been implemented for this year's event is expected or the changes are expected to improve the product so I've been restructuring this whole product putting our money where a mouth is and here it is I'm really excited I still can't believe it's all happening at this level but this is just the start I'm gonna wake up very soon I'm gonna smile we're gonna have a great great race day on Saturday and then I'm going to go back to dream again so guys our local guys the guys who are on the internet get your money ready get your horses here next year because we're gonna make this big on better yes so at 150,000 US dollars this is an improvement the purses on last year's inaugural staging of the event which was I think about 120,000 US never before in the history of a car come horse racing so we're talking Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados have we ever had a purse as high as US 150,000 so this is a massive massive purse increase here and an event that we expect many will consider going miles to see and of course sports max will have live commentary on the event it will have a post time of 445 Jamaica time that's 545 Eastern Caribbean time and you can't afford to miss it because Mara will be splendidly a tired and she's expected to stop traffic at K-Manus Bark on Saturday I'm not sure if she's willing to give us a preview or is she no I only showed it to you Lance you have to match me but I'm looking forward of course to seeing all of our viewers I know the team it's Kings and Queens so Lance will be looking like a king I'm trying to look like a queen and we look forward to seeing all of you they at K-Manus back yes so that Saturday afternoon the Mute mile the second staging of it and I was asked who was the favorite to win this event and to be quite honest I can't answer that question it's such a wide open event from the local based horses Atomic as a horse of the year on a five race winning streak is highly recommended but there are some foreign entrance including rough entry and American tap that are very very highly thought of and there are many of the local horses as well like she's my destiny who and attracting a lot of interest and a lot of confidence so it's a wide open event on tomorrow's show and Friday show we'll have the forecast odds which would probably direct you to the events or the events favorites for the event for the for the eight mile eight furlong event one mile so a tough race to call but we'll have a lot more discussion on that now coming up at the track on the Sportsmax on Thursday getting ready for the Mute mile at Jamaica's K-Manus part of the post position draw and preview of Carracombe's richest ever horse race plus the story of an eighth consecutive trainers championship win in Florida for Barbadian trainer Safie Joseph junior coming up at the track Thursday on the Sportsmax own