Team GB will have no athlete in women’s hammer despite Anna Purchase being ‘Paris qualified’ and ranked inside world’s top 16
: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
The outcry over British Athletics’ “disgusting” Olympic selection policy has escalated after one of the nation’s leading young athletes accused the governing body of robbing her place in Paris and driving people away from the sport.
Anna Purchase, who has reached the World and European hammer final over the past year and is ‘Paris qualified’ through her world ranking, will be overlooked because she missed, by just 57cm, a separate standard imposed by UK Athletics to prioritise likely medallists and top-eight finishers.
There are 32 places in the women’s hammer competition but Team GB will go unrepresented and 24-year-old Purchase, who is ranked in the world’s top 16, will instead see her place go to a lesser rival from another country.
Purchase, who fears a loss of funding and future bias by speaking out, believes that she would be doing her sport and fellow athletes a disservice by not using her voice to push for change. She joins a quartet of outraged British athletes who spoke this week to Telegraph Sport against an Olympic selection policy that will leave Team GB without anyone in the women’s hammer, women’s shot, women’s discus, men’s 3000m steeplechase and men’s hammer. This is despite having athletes in all of these events who are listed on the World Athletics ‘Road to Paris’ website as ‘qualified by world rankings’.
Sporting legend Martina Navratilova replied to a message about Telegraph Sport’s story on Thursday with the words, “What the heck???”
Posting on Instagram, Purchase confirmed that her Olympic ‘invitation’ would be “declined by British Athletics”, despite her throwing a distance this season that would have reached the last three Olympic finals.
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“British athletics have not only robbed me of another opportunity to compete, they have robbed me of a dream of being an Olympian,” said Purchase.
“I’m proud to be British. I’m proud to be the British champion. I’m proud of our culture of competition, endeavour and inclusion. Where is this Pride of Britain? I can’t comprehend how this decision and decisions like this align with our cultural values. Should we not be proud to have as many athletes as possible, representing our nation at the Olympic Games?
“We put our lives, careers and financial security on hold to pursue this sport, only to have the opportunity taken away because we are deemed ‘not good enough’ to make the top eight or win a medal in our event.
“If we are dismissed despite being among the best in the world, why would we continue? If money is the factor, let us crowdsource or pay our own way. The current state of British Athletics’ selection … is driving people away and discouraging young athletes. This backward and unsustainable practice will ruin the sport.”
: Getty Images/J Kruger
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