London 2012: Top runners file appeal
The Olympic controversy has started before the games can even begin: Two of Canada’s top female marathoners, Lanni Marchant and Krista Duchesne, are filing an appeal with Athletics Canada.
According to a report in the Globe, despite the fact that the women’s times were among the top 10 fastest marathons ever run by Canadian women, qualifying them by Olympic standards, both were a couple minutes short of Canada’s own standards. This means that not only were neither selected to represent the country in the 2012 Olympics, but no Canadian woman will be.
Apparently, few countries follow the standard set by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The IAAF’s time is set higher than Canada’s, and many other countries’, to encourage a larger field at the Olympics.
The argument behind the women’s appeal is that Athletics Canada should select them as what’s known as “rising stars,” a category that has been used in other events to pick athletes that have not necessarily met the top standards, but show recognizable potential. According to reports, both Marchant and Duchesne are new to marathons, but have managed to greatly lower their times over the past year.
Regardless of what happens with the appeal, Marchant and Duchesne will be training hard for Summer 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
