Feuds hit Australia

 GLASGOW: Feuds are splintering Australia’s Commonwealth Games team, with Sally Pearson, pictured, the latest athlete to fall out with their coach.

Olympic hurdles champion Pearson is reportedly no longer speaking with head athletics coach Eric Hollingsworth, swimmer Melanie Schlanger is fuming over being overlooked for the 4x200m freestyle relay final and squash is racked with selection turmoil.

Team chief Steve Moneghetti, however, is staying out of the disputes.

Moneghetti won’t intervene in Pearson’s dispute and says the two squash players questioning selections were not his responsibility.

“My total responsibility is to how this team performs,” he said.

“I leave the politics out of my role.

“I’m happy to chat to anybody about that outside of Games time. We’ve got to focus on right here, we’ve got some really strong challenges as a team rising above those external issues.”

Pearson is known to have been upset after some of her funding was cut for missing a pre-Games camp in favour of racing at a meet in London and last week said she had to “bite her tongue” on the topic.

“They had some issues leading in with the funding and that situation,” Moneghetti said on yesterday.

“I think she’s frustrated because she wants to get the competition going.”

News Corp reports Pearson’s relationship with Hollingsworth has broken down and she has approached Athletics Australia president David Grace to complain about what she perceives as a lack of support from the sport’s bosses.

Schlanger was said to have had a heated exchange with head coach Jacco Verhaeren and high performance director Michael Scott over the relay selection and has also reportedly complained to Swimming Australia chief executive Mark Anderson. – 7 Sport