Olympic criteria a real test for Irish

ATHLETICS:NO ONE said it would be easy – and in some cases qualifying for next year's London Olympics will be even more difficult than initially feared. At least athletes now know exactly what is required.

The IAAF have published the qualifying standards for London, and as expected these largely mirror the standards for the World Championships in Daegu in South Korea this summer, although with a few notable alterations. The men’s marathon A standard is two minutes quicker, at 2:15, compared to 2:17, and on the track the men’s 200 metres standard for London is 20.55, compared to 20.60 for Korea.

If, as declared in February, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) accept only A standards, then qualifying for London will be beyond all but the elite Irish athletes. Under the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), nations are allowed send one athlete per event on the less difficult B standard, but the OCI have removed that option, as is their right.

However, a couple of other qualifying marks have been made slightly easier for London: the men’s 1,500m A standard is 3:35.50, compared to 3:35 for Daegu, and the 10,000m is 27:45, compared to 27:40.

Still, of the 22 events, eight of the men’s A standards are better than the existing Irish records, while the 100m A standard of 10.18 equals the Irish record.

Likewise with the women, where 10 of the 21 events will require qualifying times better than the existing Irish records, including the 100m A standard of 11.29 (the Irish record of Ailis McSweeney is 11.40) and the 800m A standard of 1:59.90 (Sonia O’Sullivan ran 2:00.69), plus seven of the eight field events.

Already agreed is the London 2012 qualification period, which will begin on May 1st of this year, and conclude on July 8th, 2012, (with the exception of the walks and marathon, where qualification began last January 1st). On that basis, Rob Heffernan has already qualified in the 20km walk, having clocked 1:20.54 last month (inside the 1:22.30 A standard), as has Olive Loughnane, who last month clocked 1:32.40 (inside the 1:33.30 A standard).

But if based on times from last summer, Paul Hession (200m), David Gillick (400m), Colin Griffin (50km walk), Derval O’Rourke (100m hurdles) and Fionnuala Britton (steeplechase) are the only other athletes with the A standards.

It’s unlikely the OCI will budge on their stance of accepting only A standards, as they outlined in the selection criteria document for London, agreed with Athletics Ireland, stating that “only A standards as agreed by the International Olympic Committee/IAAF will be acceptable”, and, crucially, “the parties agree that they shall not nominate any individual or team eligible to compete . . . unless he/she/they” have achieved the A standard.

LONDON OLYMPICS – Athletics A Standards: (Men/Women) 100m: 10.18/ 11.29; 200m: 20.55/23.10; 400m: 45.25/51.50; 800m: 1:45.60/1:59.90; 1,500m: 3:35.50/ 4:06; 5,000: 13:20/15:15; 10,000m: 27:45/ 31:45; Marathon: 2:15/2:37; 3,000m SC: 8:23.10/9:43;110m H/100m H: 13.52/12.96; 400m H: 49.50/55.40; High Jump: 2.31/1.95: Pole Vault: 5.72/4.50; Long Jump: 8.20/ 6.75; Triple Jump: 17.20/14.30; Shot Put: 20.50/18.35; Discus: 65/62; 20km Walk: 1:22:30/1:33:30; 50km Walk: 3:59/X.