New Olympic qualification period : Silver lining for SL Athletes – AASL Chief

The new Olympic qualification period, which has been revised to 1 December, could be a windfall for Sri Lanka Athletes, President of the Athletics Association Sri Lanka (AASL) Maj. Gen (rtd) Palitha Fernando said.

World Athletics yesterday announced that they will be suspending the Olympic qualification period from 5 April to 1 December. The new qualification period will run from 1 December to 29June for track and field events, while the Marathon and 50Km race walk qualification will end on 31 May. Apart from these changes, athletes who have already qualified will retain the status quo and National Olympic Committees have the final say regarding such athletes.

Fernando further said this gives ample time for local athletes to make up for lost time, and also gives a second chance to athletes like Nimali Liyanarachchi (middle distance runner), who spent a better part of the last three months recovering from the vehicle accident prior to last year’s South Asian Games.

Hope for Altered qualification standards

Meanwhile, Director of National Institute of Sports Science (NISS), said the coaching panel can suggest fresh trial dates and meet dates to assist athletes’ progress and give the best possible chance for them to qualify for the Olympic Games 2021. Jayalal, who is the coach of Olympic scholarship recipient Gayanthika Abeyrathne as well as Asian Championship and Asian Games finalist Steeplechase runner Nilani Rathnayaka, said both of them are pushing hard to achieve qualification standards.

The new Olympic qualification system in 2019 introduced tough direct qualifying standards for events, where World Athletics hopes to achieve 50% of the targeted athletes through direct qualifying standards. The rest of the 50% will be selected based on the newly introduced world ranking system.

For example, Women’s marathon entry standard for 2016 Rio Olympic Games was 2 hours 45 minutes, while 2020 Olympic Games standard is 2 hours 29 minutes and 30 seconds, a difference of 15 minutes and 30 seconds. For Women’s 800m its 1 minute 59.50 seconds compared to 2 minutes 01.50 seconds in 2016, a 2 seconds difference. For Women’s steeple chase it’s 9 minutes 30 seconds, a difference of 15 seconds compared to 9 minute 45 seconds in 2016.

Jayalal hopes with the present situation in the world, World Athletics may possibly consider altering the tough qualification standards imposed, which will be beneficial to athletes from lesser known countries such as Sri Lanka. For example,  Nilani Rathnayaka who ran a personal best of 9 minutes 46.78 seconds in a 3000m steeple chase event, is just 1.78 seconds outside the old qualification standard of 9:45.00, which is somewhat manageable compared to the new qualification standard of 9:30.00, which is 16.78 seconds away from her personal best.

More time for Nimali

Asian Championship Gold medalist and World Championship participant in 2017 Nimali Liyanarachchi had high hopes of winning medals in the 800m and 1500m events at the South Asian Games last year, but it came crashing down when she met with an accident a day prior to departure. Nimali reverted to the 1500m after a few years gap and established a new Sri Lanka record of 4 minutes 15.86 seconds in September 2019, but the accident prevented her from going for possible triple Gold medals at the SAG, as well as her hopes for 2020 Olympic qualification. She did, however, recover within two months from a broken hand and hurriedly tried to get back to her old form to qualify for the Olympics, which could have gone either way, but the present situation now gives her ample time to get back to where she was and seek to improve on her timing.

“I was training in Nuwara Eliya before the curfew was imposed and rushed back home after the news. I try to think that maybe it’s for the best (postponement of Olympics) which gives me more time to train if everything goes well,” said Nimali, who is now confined to her Sooriyawewa home.

New energy –New approach

Saman Kumara Gunawardene, Senior Athletics official, recorder of the AASL and Director Physical Education at the University of Kelaniya, said this quarantine period gives a perfect opportunity for athletes to rest and be refreshed, while it also gives coaches and administrators enough time to map out different strategies for the new season, which they otherwise won’t get.

“Our athletes train throughout the year and hardly get a break and this will compel them to take a break, which will be refreshing change. We might see new energy from athletes following the break and the new extended qualification period gives coaches an opportunity to think of a new approach,” said Gunawardene.

He explained a decade or two ago athletes took a break between seasons, which helped them to come back refreshed, which ultimately helped them to improve their performance. Even elite international athletes take a break of about 4-6 weeks between season, which isn’t currently the practice among many Sri Lankan athletes. Also, the extended qualification period means even if there are competitions before 1 December, those results won’t be considered for world rankings or Olympic qualification, where Gunarawardene said the coaches can use these months to focus purely on building athletes’ endurance and other aspects than preparing for competition, which could be vital for future success.

Winter comes in between – Yupun

Italian based sprinter Yupun Abeykoon isn’t a big fan of extending the qualification period till December. He said the winter season, which will start October/November and go on till April, will not help him much despite the extension.

“May be I will have to return Sri Lanka during that period, which isn’t ideal but I will not have any option,” said the sprinter, who trains with the Army team in Italy.

The Tokyo Olympic Games which was to be held in July/August 2020, has been postponed to 23 July-8 August 2021 due to the Covid19 Pandemic.