Double punishment for athletes who are not selected for the Swedish Olympic team

Athletes who have met the World Athletics (WA) qualification criteria but have not been selected by the SOK for the Olympics in Paris have caused fierce debate in Sweden recent days, where several athletes have spoken up in media and been strongly critical towards the SOK selections, while the SOK General Manager, Peter Reinebo, told Swedish Television (SVT) off and believes that the limits have not been questioned before and refers, among other things, to the fact that the top 12 criteria have been decided at SOK's annual meeting. The chairman of the Swedish Athletics Federation, Johan Storåkers, tells Swedish Radio (SR) that the athletes receive 100% support from the federation's management.

To miss out on a spot in the Olympic team does not only mean a lost Olympic opportunity. It also causes that the athlete misses out on the chance to make good results in their best shape against the world’s best athletes and with full stadiums and more. According to WA, the Olympics are ranked highest among competitions along with the World Championships as the basis for the distribution of ranking points. One and the same result therefore gives higher ranking points when it is performed at an Olympics than at a lower ranked competition, for example a Continental Tour Bronze competition. The Swedes who are not selected for the Olympics are replaced with lower-ranked athletes from other countries who get the chance to compete with conditions that provide better opportunities for higher ranking points than the Swedish athletes who are not selected for the Olympics. As a result, the conditions and competitiveness for the Swedish athletes who are not selected for the Olympics will be worse when it comes to qualifying for the upcoming World Championships and European Championships. The consequence is thus a form of double punishment. It is not clear whether those who decided this way of selecting Olympians at the SOK annual meeting were aware of this.

The selections of the last years' championships at the European Championships and World Championships are, in our opinion, that there has been a more liberal attitude since Kajsa Bergqvist became the national team captain. Most of those who were met the qualification criteria and nomination criteria, i.e. are invited by World Athletics and European Athletics, were also selected. There have been exceptions, for example Lovisa Lindh who was not selected to go to the World Championships 2022. Concerning selections for youth and junior championships, the Swedish Athletics Federation is restrictive and sends far from everyone who has med the qualification criteria. Perhaps the Federation would take the opportunity to be a little self-critical at this moment. Why not allow everyone who qualifies for championships according to World Athletics and European Athletics to participate? Our concerns are that Kajsa does not have the resources needed to send everyone who qualifies either to the youth or junior championships. Not even for the senior championships. Pre-camp before these also shines with its absence.

A call-around made by BAUHAUS-galan shows that several sponsors are prepared to contribute extra resources to send more to the international championships if they are earmarked. The athletes often invest more of their own resources (money) in their sport than they receive in support from the club and the Federation together, on training, camps, travel, etc., as well as indirect non-earned income, i.e. if they had invested their time in work instead of playing sports without pay. It would therefore be fair that everyone who qualifies for the championships is given a place at them. It is important for credibility and that the athletes knows exactly what applies.

When BAUHAUS-galan at the Diamond League plan disciplines, and invites athletes to the meeting, it is done as often as possible so that Swedish athletes will have the chance to compete against the world’s best. It has proven to be the opportunity to ignite the spark that may be needed for the athlete to make their international breakthrough and enter the international world of athletics. As a Diamond League organizer, you are allowed to bring one athlete in each discipline from your own country. From a purely sport point of view, many Swedes who compete at BAUHAUS-galan are not qualified for a Diamond League show up, but for the sport experience itself, on television, among the audience and for the sponsors, there is great value in letting them participate. And then what it means for the athletes. Doing everything, we can allow as many as possible to compete has proven to be a success factor. It is an investment for the future and for our sport. For the athlete, it provides the opportunity to acquire valuable ranking points in the competition series that pays the best ranking points of all competitions at the level below the World Championships and the Olympics. And sure, sometimes it goes wrong. We must all be able to admit that.

Jan Kowalski and Stefan Holm