SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
SPORT MAN
SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
Olympic Lustre Lost ?
The frustrating case of SA ’ s Elroy Gelant missing out on qualifying to run the marathon at the Paris Olympics in August has left a sour taste in my mouth .
The Olympic Games come around once every four years , and qualifying to compete at the Games is the pinnacle of many sporting codes . That is why so many Olympic athletes head to their nearest tattoo parlour after the Games to have the Olympic logo engraved on their skin , and there is an unwritten rule that only those who have actually competed at an Olympics are allowed the honour of tattooing those five Olympic Rings on their bodies . No officials , media , organisers or volunteers … only athletes that have become Olympians !
This is why the various sporting codes apply stringent qualification criteria to qualify for the Games – and so they should , because we want to see the best of the best at the Olympics ! Therefore , in my opinion , the Games should never serve as a ‘ development opportunity ,’ because I believe that if we start to lower entry standards to address non-sporting concerns , be they political , geographical , socio-economic or any other reason , then we diminish the Games . And that ’ s why I am not happy about the recent announcement of marathon athletes qualifying for the upcoming Paris Olympics .
Stating the Rules
When World Athletics originally published the qualification criteria for the marathon , in December 2022 , it said that the minimum qualifying standard for men would be 2:08:10 , and 2:26:50 for women , and both the men ’ s and women ’ s marathon fields would be limited to 80 athletes , with a maximum of three per country . Further , quite specific stipulations said that :
• For the marathon , the qualification window is from 1 November 2022 to 30 April 2024 .
• For the marathon , any athlete ranked higher than the 65th athlete on the filtered Quota Place “ Road to Paris ” list on 30 January 2024 will be considered qualified . After 30 January 2024 , the remaining 20 % of the quota will be determined by the same dual pathway qualification criteria outlined above , without displacing the athletes qualified per 30 January 2024 . Any national Olympic committee may choose to reallocate a quota place to an unqualified athlete , provided the athlete in the qualification window has achieved at least a 2:11:30 ( men ) or 2:29:30 ( women ) performance .
This all seemed quite straightforward , except that World Athletics has apparently moved its own goal posts . Go to the world body ’ s ‘ Road to Paris ’ link , click on the men ’ s marathon tab , and you will see that 70 athletes qualified by entry ( time ) standards , while the remaining 10 places were allocated to athletes that qualified by “ Universality Place .” However , in the women ’ s marathon , the field is now 88 qualifiers ( by entry
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ISSUE 168 | www . modernathlete . co . za standard ), plus a further eight athletes have qualified “ by Universality Place ,” giving you a total of 96 entrants .
In terms of Universality Places , any national Olympic committee that has no male or female qualified athlete or relay team will be allowed to enter their best-ranked male or best-ranked female athlete in either the 100m , 800m or marathon .
Raising Questions
Now , I have no problem that World Athletics has increased the size of the women ’ s field , because I think it ’ s good for the sport that more than 80 athletes qualified on time standards , and this raises the level of competition in Paris . My issue is that they seemingly did not apply the same standards in the men ’ s field . Where is the consistency ?
World Athletics has also seemingly ignored the part of its own rules that stipulates that unqualified athletes being allocated a quota place must at least have run 2:11:30 ( men ) or 2:29:30 ( women ). For example , some of the men in those Universality Places have at best run 2:13 , 2:17 or even 2:18 marathons , while some of the women with quota places have clocked a best of 2:30 , 2:32 or 2:35 during the qualifying window . There are even some athletes who have yet to run a marathon !
Meanwhile , South Africa ’ s Elroy Gelant came desperately close to the automatic qualifying standard of 2:08:10 when he ran 2:08:56 in Sevilla , Spain in February . This meant he ultimately finished as the second-highest ranked non-qualifying athlete on the World Ranking list ( after taking into account that only three athletes per country are allowed ), and he is much faster than some of the quota athletes now going to Paris . In fact , of the 10 men going to Paris as Universality entries , only Dario Ivanovski of Macedonia has a faster time than Elroy – 2:08:26 , also run in Sevilla this year .
Feeling Deflated
Sure , you can argue that Elroy didn ’ t qualify anyway , and I know I am biased in favour of him as a fellow South African , but I think he won ’ t be the only athlete who narrowly missed out on automatic qualification , and was hopeful of getting in thanks to the World Rankings , only to be displaced by slower athletes who have qualified by “ Universality .”
Far be it for me to try dissuade World Athletics from opening the door to athletes from countries that “ do not get the same opportunities .” After all , we do want the sport to grow … but not at the expense of those who deserve to be at the Olympics more than some of these quota athletes . Sorry , but I feel the prestige of the Olympic Games is being tarnished .
About the Author
Manfred Seidler is a freelance sport journalist who has been in the industry since 1994 , in both print media and broadcasting , covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio , and producing various athletics shows for the SABC . Follow him on X : @ sportmansa ; Facebook : Sport Man SA ; Instagram : sportman _ sa .
Images : Mark Sampson
Eloy Gelant narrowly missing out on Olympic qualification seems unfair