Amidst mounting controversy, UK Athletics faces scrutiny after 19 athletes have been denied the chance to participate in the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this month, despite qualifying through their world rankings.
According to The Guardian, World Athletics extended invitations to athletes ranked within the top 50 in their respective events, even if they hadn’t met the required qualification standard. However, UK Athletics rejected these invitations on behalf of the athletes, adhering strictly to the qualification standards. This decision has sparked a debate over the fairness of the selection process with Lina Nielsen, Britain’s No 2-ranked 400 metres hurdler, taking to social media to complain.
‘I feel completely cheated,’ she writes on Instagram. ‘Ranked in the top 40 in the world, I will be invited to compete at the World Championships by World Athletics. Unfortunately our governing body will decline that invite on behalf of the athletes. I was only 0.06s away from their qualifying standard. To know that I’m deemed good enough to go to the world champs but that my federation will say no is world-shattering.’
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In an effort to foster a fairer selection process, World Athletics introduced a revamped qualification system three years ago. The new approach divides the athlete qualification process equally, with half securing their spots through automatic qualification standards, while the other half earns their spot based on their world rankings.
Nielsen, ranked 27th in the world, is among those who will receive a World Athletics invite based on her world ranking. But since her best time this summer is 0.06 seconds outside the automatic qualification standard, her invitation has been rejected.
The impact of the selection process has also affected British hurdler Joshua Zeller, who finished fifth in the men’s 110m hurdles at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. Despite achieving a place in the world final last year and maintaining a ranking within the top 30, Zeller’s invitation to the 2023 World Championships will be turned down for the same reason.
Taking to Instagram, Zeller expressed his understanding of not meeting the required criteria but conveyed his disappointment with the situation. ‘Going from being a world finalist last year to not even being able to compete in this year's championships is truly disheartening,’ he wrote.
UK Athletics chief executive Jack Buckner has previously been quoted saying that he plans to take a more ‘ruthless’ approach to the selection of Great Britain’s track and field teams at future major championships. According to a report from the Daily Mail earlier this year, Buckner said that in an effort to increase Great Britain’s medal haul, he plans to move away from sending bigger squads and focus solely on the country’s best track and field stars. But the question of whether this should come at the cost of denying opportunities to deserving athletes who qualified based on world rankings is yet to be determined.
