New IAAF plan to aid qualification

THE IAAF will introduce a new global rankings system in September which will serve as qualification for major championships and the Olympic Games.

The introduction of the system has been hailed as a more transparent process which will also remedy some of the qualifying standard issues South Africa has wrestled with over the past few years.

Athletes earn points based on a combination of result and place depending on the level of the competition with the window opening on September 7 and closing a year later on September 6, 2019.

Each nation will still be limited to three athletes per individual event and they can earn selection by meeting the IAAF’s entry standards.

The third way is to qualify by wildcard as a defending champion or winner of the 2019 Diamond League.

The ranking system will require athletes to perform on a consistent basis as it will be based on their average score over a certain number of competitions in a defined period of time.

Top sprint coach Hennie Kriel believed the rankings system would not have a major influence in the actual selection of teams.

“The United States would for instance still follow their system where they host trials and select the top-three athletes even though they are not among the top three on the rankings,” Kriel said.

“Countries aren’t obligated to select according to the rankings and an athlete could be ranked among the top-10 and the federation can still opt not to select you.”

While Kriel was sceptical rankings system’s influence on improving the overall selection criteria, he was optimistic that it would lift the level of competition.

“What I like is that it is transparent and it enhances performance quality and athletes need to know they need to get into better competitions and run faster times,” Kriel said.

Athletes will earn more points at major competitions such as the Olympics and World Championships while they can still add to their score at a grassroots level as long as the competitions comply with IAAF rules and regulations.

This will go a long way in standardising competitions around the world and would hopefully address poor organisation as was the case at the recent African Championships in Nigeria.