“Especially when those who have rightfully qualified are barred from competing by British Athletics. This is discouraging and makes young athletes hesitant to commit to the sacrifices needed to reach this level. If this continues, I truly believe it will be the end of athletics in our country – or at least for the field events.”
UKA says high standards drive performance – but athletes disagree
There is also a feeling that the policy has seen people in field events face disproportionately high standards. A time of 9.93sec was needed to reach the men’s 100m final in Paris, for example, and yet the UKA Olympic standard sits at 10.02sec. Similarly, the men’s 400m had a qualification standard of 45.00sec when 44.41sec was actually needed to reach the final. A significant proportion of track athletes did not reach individual finals but there was major success in the relay events, which accounted for half the medals, and much positive feedback for the work of head coach Paula Dunn.
UKA says that policy is designed to maximise top-eight finishes and medal chances. Numerous people inside British athletics fear that it is having the diametrically opposite effect, particularly when you consider the longer-term impact and the missed experience for younger athletes like Norris, Purchase and Kenneth Ikeji who, at 21, has already thrown a distance that is the third-best hammer result in British history and would have been tied for sixth in Paris.
“Surely Team GB should be taking the whole team that gets their Olympic invitation rather than destroying a number of athletes’ Olympic dreams,” said Darren Steer, a former thrower who acts as a representative for Norris on an unpaid basis. “Most other countries will take as many people as possible. Our kids are saying, ‘Where are the GB athletes?’ It’s a tragic injustice.
“People see what is happening and get disillusioned. People are stepping away from the sport.
“I love the sport – I really want it to succeed but it needs a sea change.”
Norris said that he was initially angered by the situation and, like every impacted athlete, would have found a way to self-fund his participation if cost was the issue. “All my family would have gone,” he said. “I love the sport – it is not a career choice.”
