The Ecuadorian Athletics Federation (FEA) announced that World Athletics (WA) will lift the suspension of the Olympic qualification system for the marathon and race walk from September 1, 2020, due to concerns about the lack of opportunities that may be available for athletes until May 31, 2021, the end of the qualification period.
The original suspension, from April 6 to November 30, 2020, was introduced due to the disruption of competition and training caused by the global pandemic. It remains valid for all other athletics events.
"Athletes will be able to achieve the Olympic qualifying marks from September 1 to November 30, but only in pre-identified, announced, and authorized races that will take place on certified World Athletics courses, with in-competition doping tests on site," WA explained.
Most of the major marathons have already been canceled or postponed for the rest of this year and the evolution of the pandemic makes it difficult to predict if those scheduled for the first half of next year will be able to go ahead," Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics.
WA clarified that these dates will only be open for achieving Olympic marks, as the accumulation of points for the world ranking and automatic qualification through Gold Label / Platinum Label marathons remains suspended until November 30, 2020.
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Ecuadorian racewalker Paola Pérez considers that the measure has two aspects: "It benefits some athletes and not others. In my case, I am focused on Tokyo, I was willing to do it through ranking or mark, we had both options, in this case I do not see myself very affected," she said.
For Byron Piedra, a long-distance runner who will seek to secure his presence in what would be his fifth Olympic Games, it would be important to take advantage of these new dates to try to achieve the qualifying mark. "Perhaps in the end they will have to change the system only to mark, I think... And yes, it is important to be able to travel not to miss those two opportunities this year for qualification," he said.
Byron Piedra
World Athletics announced that it expects at least two major events for the aforementioned dates. The London Marathon, which will take place on October 4, and the Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon.
Segundo Jami, who is 45 seconds away from the Olympic mark, currently keeps the Valencia Marathon in his schedule, to which he has already registered, and does not think he can travel to the events that will take place between September and November. "Unfortunately, with these new decisions, it is a bit complicated, I would say rather that nothing is still certain due to the pandemic," he said.
Athlete Commission
The WA Athlete Commission acknowledged that this decision does not help all athletes, given the travel restrictions still imposed by some countries, but said it will support most long-distance athletes under the particularly difficult circumstances they face to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
For its part, World Athletics stated that it will also work with its member federations and competition organizers to ensure that there are sufficient pre-Olympic competition opportunities for all athletics disciplines, particularly those that traditionally have fewer gathering opportunities, from December 1, 2020 onwards.
The South American region governed by Consudatle has already called its member countries, including Ecuador, for a talk on the World Athletics global ranking for this August 19. (D)