A petition has been launched to challenge the recent decision by World Athletics in which athletes who qualified for the Olympic marathon via World Athletics Rankings were eventually left off the final list for the Olympic marathon.
The move, deemed unfair by the petitioners, replaced these athletes with “universality” competitors. These places are typically reserved for nations without any qualified athletes to promote global representation.
The petition, initiated by Winki Solutions and currently backed by 4,089 signatures as of Friday afternoon (EDT), aims to reach 5,000 supporters. It calls for World Athletics to reinstate the 10 athletes who had initially secured their spots through world rankings.
What’s Been Going On?
The controversy stems from World Athletics’ decision to allocate universality places to 11 marathon runners. This year’s universality list includes athletes who have never previously run a marathon, as well as those with personal bests many minutes slower than the men’s time of 2:08:10 required for auto entry.
However, the timing and execution of this decision have led to significant backlash within the athletics community. Initially, World Athletics aimed to limit the marathon to 80 runners, with half qualifying by running an auto-standard time and the other half via a ranking system.
However, after 70 athletes qualified via the auto-standard, just 10 spots remained for athletes to qualify via the ranking.
After the qualification window closed a few weeks ago, the Road to Paris list initially showed that 10 athletes had qualified through the ranking system. However, just a few days later, the list showed that no athletes qualified via this pathway, and rather, 11 spots were given to universality athletes.
The affected athletes who were initially on the Road to Paris list via the World Athletics Ranking include:
- Hugo Catrileo (Chile)
- Elroy Gelant (South Africa)
- Leonard Korir (USA) (CJ Albertson was ranked higher; however, Korir placed third at Olympic Trials and would have been selected for the U.S. team)
- Liam Adams (Australia)
- Samuel Tsegay Tesfamariam (Sweden)
- Abdi Ali Gelelchu (Bahrain)
- Tachlowini Gabriyesos (Athlete Refugee team)
- Ilham Tanui Özbilen (Turkey)
- Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia) – poised for his sixth Olympic marathon
Issues Raised In The Petition
Petitioners argue that the decision to replace qualified athletes with universality entrants not only undermines the athletes’ hard-earned achievements but also breaches the principles of fairness and transparency.
The timing of the decision, coming just days after the qualification period ended, has further exacerbated the frustration as it leaves these athletes without a chance to go back and run the auto-standard.
The petition highlights that the women’s field for the marathon includes 97 athletes, with nine universality places (but none from the rankings), suggesting there is room to expand the men’s field to 91 to accommodate both the qualified athletes and the universality entrants.
The 2016 men’s Olympic marathon featured 145 athletes. Even the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Marathon, which was pared back due to the Pandemic, accommodated 106 entrants in the men’s field.
Calls For Action
The petition demands two main actions from World Athletics:
1. Reinstatement: Reinstate the ten athletes who were replaced by the universality entrants, allowing both groups to compete in the Olympics.
2. Transparency: Improve communication and ensure transparent decision-making processes to prevent future issues and maintain the integrity of the qualification system.
Read the full petition below:
Reinstate Olympic Marathon Prospects Unfairly Disqualified by World Athletics
Overview: We call on World Athletics to reconsider the recent decision to replace 10 deserving athletes, who qualified through the world rankings, with universality athletes for the upcoming Paris Olympics marathon. The universality places should have been granted in ADDITION to the athletes who qualified through the standard route.
This move, made at the 11th hour, has not only undermined the efforts and aspirations of these athletes but also compromised the principles of fairness and transparency in the athletics community.
The Issue: World Athletics allocated “universality” places—intended for nations without any qualified athletes—to 11 competitors. This allocation has unexpectedly displaced 10 athletes who had secured their spots through the world rankings, believing they had successfully qualified for the Paris Olympics. Those affected include:
- Hugo CATRILEO [Chile]
- Elroy GELANT [South Africa]
- Leonard KORIR [USA]
- Liam ADAMS [Australia]
- Samuel Tsegay TESFAMARIAM [Sweden]
- Abdi Ali GELELCHU [Bahrain]
- Tachlowini GABRIYESOS [Athlete Refugee team]
- Il Ilham Tanui ÖZBILEN [Turkey]
- Ser-Od BAT-OCHIR (this would have been his 6th Olympic marathon) [Mongolia]
The Women’s Athletics field contains 97 athletes including nine universality places, so there is certainly room to expand the men’s field to 91 and allow those 10 displaced athletes to compete.
Impact: The affected athletes have dedicated years of training and significant financial resources toward qualifying for the Olympics. They achieved their positions on the basis of World Athletics’ own ranking system only to have their Olympic dreams dashed days after the qualification period ended.
Requests
- Reinstatement: We urge World Athletics to reinstate the original 10 athletes who were displaced by the addition of universality places, and keep the universality athletes as additional entrants.
- Transparency: Implement clearer communication and transparent decision-making processes to prevent future discrepancies and ensure athletes can trust the qualification system.
