Should he be punished?

The British quartet of Christian Malcolm, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish and Dwain Chambers won the event in a blistering time of 38.19 seconds.

But Condon and Jason Gardener dropped out when they learned that they were not first-choice selections in Munich, although it is believed Gardener cited injury.

And UK Athletics performance director Max Jones admitted that Condon's lottery funding could now come under scrutiny.

This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below.

I think he should lose funding. Any professional sports personalities who leave because they're not first choice are just like little kids. He should fight for his place in the team, not run at the first sign of a set-back, that's no way to try and make it in life.
Paul Fellows, England

As an athletic enthusiast, I implore the Athletics Authority to merely issue a reprimand which will serve as a warning to others; but please do not withdraw his funding. My guess is; he is hurting and that is punishment enough!
Angela Adebayo, England

He should have been allowed to run in the relay that he was selected for. They should at least have run him in the first round to get him a gold medal. I don't blame him one bit for going home.
Nolly, Scotland

Allyn should not be penalised for his actions. Although he should not have behaved in such a way, I think that anyone else in his situation would be extremely annoyed at having flown all the way out to Munich and then being told that they were not going to run.

The lottery funding should not be used as some kind of bribery tool, i.e. stay or else you may lose your funding. How ridiculous would that be?
Shilo, UK

Condon should have been in the team. His run in Manchester was first class, and he was in better physical shape than both Campbell and Malcolm. I quite understand why he was unhappy. Funds should not be withdrawn.
Brian Owen, UK

Allyn Condon has been the bedrock of the sprint relay for a few years. He has never failed to run a steaming leg, including his leg for England in Manchester - which came just after his recovery from life-threatening illness. I'm not surprised he was upset. OK, so maybe he shouldn't have stomped out as he did, but he should keep his funding. We can't afford to lose him.
Sandra, UK

Withdrawal of Lottery funding would be gross overkill.
Dave, UK

The same thing happened to Ian Mackie at the Sydney Olympics and he took it badly as well. Removing Allyn Condon's funding serves no purpose other than to make the guy poor and give up the sport!

It has taken years to have a pool of great sprinters at world level. This kind of thing is bound to happen. What the point of hanging around a competition when not competing? It must be frustrating.
Fiona Tomany, Scotland

He is a talented athlete who should be encouraged, not rejected.
Simon, England

I don't think he should loose all of his funding and I suppose to have part of it withdrawn would be too complicated. He was there as a part of the team and through a temper tantrum because he wasn't picked. I don't think he should be selected for the next major championship.
Caz, England

Action should be taken against Condon. He is using money that could be better spent. My mates Niall Clegg alias 'The Ballyhalbert Bruiser' and Richard Dunbar alais 'The Portadown Petrifier' recently put on a wrestling match for Sports relief which raised a lot of money for children who are starting out in sport.

Yet people must now be wondering why it's worth their while raising money for Sports charities when someone like Condon decides he'd rather be at home.
Wayne Kennedy, Armagh, N. Ireland

Was he aware of the possible ramifications of his actions? If yes, then I think funding should be removed. If not, he should be given a clear reminder of his duties as a team player and a warning that funding will be removed if there is a similar issue in the future. He's a talented runner and we should try- where possible- to nurture rather than rebuke.
Gareth Williams, United Kingdom

When I was an athlete in the early '80s, I was forced to quit because I couldn't get funding but still needed to provide for my family. Condon should be taught to realise how fortunate he is by having his lottery funding withdrawn and giving it to someone more worthy.
Tommy, England

I empathise with his disappointment, but flying home was inexcusable. The four selected runners are better than he is, but if any of them had been injured warming up or in the semis, then he would have been needed.

Only a small percentage of quality, dedicated athletes have access to lottery money and there would be no shortage of committed people angling for his funds.
Louise, UK

Allyn has been a loyal servant for GB athletics since he won gold with the junior team at the World cChampionships back in 1992. He was there in Manchester when Francis and Chambers got injured and helped secure gold for England.

No-one likes to be second choice and perhaps all the messing around got to him. Condon and Campbell are probably the most experienced hand-over in the world having ran together since their Sale days in the 1980s! Why cut his lottery?
Matt K, London, UK

He's a decent guy, did a great job in Manchester, and he should be forgiven. Why do we have to kick people with such talent?
Geoff, UK

Anybody walking out on his job loses money. Allyn Condon is no different. Because of the loss of his grandfather, Darren Campbell might have been below par, but because of Allyn Condon's defection he had no choice but to run.
Patricia Cornish, England

Firstly, I think that Allyn has done well to even get back to this level of competition considering how ill he was less than a year ago. In one sense I think his reaction is understandable - it must be frustrating to be out there in Munich, training every day and not even getting a run.

However, that is the nature of a team sport. It must also have been a bit of a surprise that Christian Malcolm would be the lead-off man. To my knowledge, Malcolm has not run in a senior championship relay and Allyn may have thought this unfair as he, once again, had proved his reliablity only recently in the Commonwealths.
Siobhan, England

A public warning should be given because, as someone rightly said, this is a team event and as in any squad, be it football or relay, the manager's decision must be accepted.
John, Belgium ex-pat

All these overpaid, whining, childish footballers who throw tantrums receive little or no punishment, and one athlete has a fairly minor disagreement and people are talking about his funding being stopped. Madness.
Gordon, UK

There are two sides to this. Firstly, it is important to fund all disciplines in depth, so talent has the environment to develop into world-beaters. The time that the Redgraves of this world really need funding is before they win their first gold medal, not after they have won their third.

Secondly, with deeper funding comes responsibility, and I question whether Condon is living up to this part of the deal.
Mick, UK

There is no way that his funding should be removed. He has been a valuable servant of British athletics and I would be annoyed to be treated the way he was.
Claire May, UK

We should not forget what he has done for UK athletics in the past.
Komolafe, England

No, he shouldn't have his funding withdrawn because it isn't a situation where he has disgraced his country. I sympathise fully with Allyn, because I'm sure he was looking forward to running for GB and winning a gold medal.

That chance was taken away from him and his reaction is a consequence of that action. After servicing one's country for many a year, it's nice to be able to show and say to your children, "Look what daddy received for being part of the best sprint team in Europe in 2002". If the selectors picked him then they should of trusted him also.
Vere Peters, England

Withdraw the funding asap - there are plenty of better deserving athletes lacking appropriate funding and he left his team-mates exposed with Tony Jarret ready to step in if needed. With all respect, this could have left the team in a losing position.

Such athletes need to appreciate they are in a position on their merits but still rely on coaches/selectors whose duties are defined.
James Walters, UK

Why should he be allowed to go home? What if one of the first choices got injured, during warm-up or whenever? Surely he should want the best team out there to win the medals for Team GB, even if he's not one of them? Unfortunately, this sort of action always tends to sound like sour grapes.
Neil, Netherlands

I think Mark Grimes must be a relative of Allyn Condon. First, he quit the team before the semi-final, so had someone have picked up an injury then there would have been no replacement available. Secondly, he may well have trained every day, but he was also the only member of the team who was not involved in an indvidual event, let alone a final.

He should also count himself lucky to have been there at all, because had Lewis-Francis have been available he would have stayed at home. The fact that he complains about being treated badly is ridiculous. How many footballers sat on the bench at the World Cup and never got on the pitch? That's sport I'm afraid.
Scott, England

I don't think he should lose funding. It was probably a heat of the moment decision from him. We all make mistakes. He has done so well to come back from illness and I think he should continue to be supported.
Kevin Sibley, UK

Seems fair, and I'm sure Allyn will regret his hasty actions. He was part of a team, and the importance of team success is that you have the chance to pick the best four from a squad of six.
Jock Barton, Germany

He shouldn't have any funding withdrawn for this at all. He trained everyday, even when the other names didn't. You should ask the selectors why he wasn't told that he wouldn't be running when they knew that the winning team were available.
Dominic Hopson, England

No, but he should not be given the chance to represent GB again.
John Jacobs, England

Allyn should not lose funding. He was not selected, and should have been allowed home. The selected relay team declared themselves fit, and he wasnt going to be selected for the final, though he wasn't informed. He turned up in Munich and trained for the relay every day (the others didn't) and he was given no explanation from the organisors and was treated disgracefully.
Mark Grimes, UK

Absolutely. He's not being paid to be a prima-donna. Perhaps a slap on the wrist this time, but a repeat performance should mean withdrawal of funds.
GMcD, Edinburgh