Willis turns down late invitation
Two-time Olympic medallist Nick Willis has declined a last-minute invitation to race at the world athletics championships, following a U-turn from the sport’s governing body.
The middle distance runner was a glaring omission from New Zealand’s 13-strong squad for the competition in Doha, Qatar, which starts on Friday.
The 36-year-old did not receive an original invitation in his 1500m event from the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) based on their roll down system, which effectively fills the field with the next highest ranked athletes in the scenario where 45 runners do not automatically qualify.
Following a final review of entries, the IAAF issued an additional 130 invitations to eligible athletes, including Willis. He chose to not accept the invitation, a move that has been supported by Athletics New Zealand.
Zoe Hobbs (200m), Camille Buscomb (5000m), who were already with the New Zealand team having qualified for the event, both accepted their invitations.
‘‘The goal for 2019 was always to try to qualify for Doha with the aim of peaking in October for a good performance,’’ Willis said in a statement.
‘‘After a week of waiting while [Athletics New Zealand] advocated for me, the IAAF informed me of the final decision that I would not receive an invitation.’’
Athletics New Zealand high performance director Scott Goodman blasted the ‘‘appalling’’ selection process last week, telling Stuff they were left blindsided by Willis’ unavailability.
In order to automatically qualify for the world championships, Willis was required to run a time of 3min 36secs before the September 6 deadline. After toying
with a switch to the 5000m earlier in the season, he could only manage a time of 3min 36.99secs in his final hitout on September 1.
Even though Willis was sitting at No. 42 on the September 6 deadline, he was overtaken by four athletes who used a selection loophole that allows countries who have not qualified a single participant to nominate an athlete of each gender to compete. It just so happened to be that four of those nominated were 1500m runners.
Despite the frustration, Willis could see the silver lining ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
‘‘The initial disappointment quickly faded as my coaches and I realised this may be a great blessing in disguise.
‘‘With Tokyo only 10 months away, I can end my season on the high of winning the 5th Avenue mile and have a two-three week break before building up again for a great indoor and Down Under track season. Going to Doha would limit any recharge time.’’