Track and field agent Paul Doyle sat trackside early Sunday afternoon near the men’s high jump pit, watching one of his athletes, high jumper Jamie Nieto, try and win his third outdoor national title at the AT&T USA Outdoor National Championships. Nieto finished fourth at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but did no better than fifth at the 2005 and 2006 U.S. outdoor meets.

Doyle was hoping for a positive conclusion to what has been an admittedly difficult weekend. Some of his high-profile clients, including 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and U.S. decathlete Bryan Clay, the world champion, suffered unfortunate fates.

Doyle said Powell won the 100 meters Saturday at the Jamaican National Championships in 10.04, but he “tweaked” a groin muscle. Doyle said Powell felt pain in his groin twice during the race and eased up to avoid serious injury. He was waiting to hear word from Jamaica about the severity of the injury.

The sprinter’s appearance in the next Golden League meet in France on July 6 is dubious. Tendonitis in a knee earlier this season forced a limited outdoor schedule this year.

Clay dropped out of the first day of the decathlon Friday after the fourth event. He said then that he thought an injury to a meniscus cartilage in his knee is causing the pain. Doyle said today that they now think it may be the posterior cruciate ligament and that Clay will have an MRI in the next few days in Hawaii to determine the injury. Doyle said Clay could have completed the decathlon this weekend if he had to qualify for the world team. Clay receives an automatic bid as the defending world champion. Doyle expects Clay to compete at the world championships that begin in late August.

Doyle’s day ended on a positive note. Nieto finished second and will compete in the world championships for the first time since he made his debut at the meet in 2003 with a seventh-place finish. But Nieto made his agent sweat. He made the team only by winning a jump-off with Adam Shunk, who finished third.

To Doyle, the result is enough to be considered a triumph for Nieto, and it provided some welcome good news.

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