Wariner and coach split over contract dispute

Olympic and world 400 metres champion Jeremy Wariner and his long-time trainer Clyde Hart have severed their coaching relationship because of a contract dispute.

"The contract (offer) was significantly lower than what I had got in the previous three years," Hart told Reuters in a telephone interview from Waco, Texas, where he coaches. "I couldn't in good faith sign it.

"He has won everything out there and I just could not understand why there would be a cut in my pay," Hart added.

Hart, best known for coaching Michael Johnson to world records and Olympic and world gold medals, had been Wariner's coach for the last five years.

Wariner won the 2004 Olympic gold medal and 2005 and 2007 world championship titles under Hart. He is the odds-on favourite for Beijing this year and has been hailed as the person who could break Johnson's 400m record.

Hart declined to say who would be Wariner's new coach. Neither Johnson, who is Wariner's agent, nor Wariner's manager Deon Minor returned calls to their mobile phones.

"I am not mad at anybody, I'm just disappointed in a lot of people," Hart said.

"I plan on having an Olympic champion and I am just going to go on from there," Hart said, noting he would continue to coach the world's top-ranked female 400 metres runner, Sanya Richards.