Embattled Athletics Australia will receive a major shake-up in the wake of calls for the board to be sacked, five months out from the Athens Olympics.

Federal Sports Minister Rod Kemp announced the national governing body for track and field would be reviewed by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) following revelations it had debts of $1.3 million.

But the man at the centre of the controversy, Athletics Australia (AA) chief executive Simon Allatson, declared it would not be a witch hunt to cull the sport of unwanted administrative and coaching staff.

The review, expected to be completed by the Games in August, is a response to the deepening crisis within the sport, evidenced when sprinter Lauren Hewitt publicly called for Allatson's resignation.

Her outburst was the latest in a long-running feud, which has included Victorian coach Nic Bideau calling for the entire AA board to resign.

The weekend's Olympic selection trials were overshadowed by in-fighting within the sport when distance running coach Said Aouita threatened to quit the country because he was sick of the squabbles with Victorian coaches and athletes.

By the end of the four-day meeting, former world record holder Aouita had shifted his attack to Australia's head coach Keith Connor, accusing him of being a control freak who refused to allow Aouita to do his job.

Allatson said he was disappointed by the vitriolic attacks but hoped there could be a positive outcome in making the internal spats public.

"A lot of this was brought about by small interest groups which I believe was indeed unfortunate," he said.

"It may well have a positive outcome in the sense that it can bring out into the open a lot of the issues that we've had to deal with for a period of time.

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