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Warburton added to Olympic team after successful appeal

800m runner Gareth Warburton wins his appeal to represent Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics

Posted on July 6, 2012 by
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Gareth Warburton (Mark Shearman)

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Following the Team GB announcement earlier this week, 11 individual appeals were made to the British Olympic Association as athletes tried to convince selectors that they were worthy of a spot on the team, but only one – Gareth Warburton – was successful.

The 800m runner, who has this year slashed his PB from 1:46.47 to 1:44.98, had only achieved the ‘A’ standard once this year, which fell short of the required two ‘A’ standards as stipulated by UK Athletics.

But Warburton satisfied the entry criteria as set by the IAAF, which requires athletes to only achieve one qualifying standard between May last year and July this year. His 1:45.80, set in the heats of last week’s European Championships, fell an agonising 0.2 short of the ‘A’ standard, but was well within the ‘B’ standard.

“I am absolutely delighted to have been selected to Team GB to represent my country at our home Olympic Games,” said Warburton, who will now join the 77 track and field athletes previously selected to complete the Team GB athletics line-up.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me and I intend to make the most of it. I am joining a fantastic team of athletes and we’re all focused on doing Britain proud this summer.”

But other athletes were not so fortunate. Fellow 800m runners Jemma Simpson, Emma Jackson and Marilyn Okoro had also lodged appeals over their controversial non-selection, while 200m sprinter Richard Kilty and discus thrower Jade Nicholls did likewise over their exclusion. All were unsuccessful.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult time for athletes who were not selected to Team GB,” said UKA chairman Ed Warner, who was chair of the appeals panel. “Appeals are heard on a matter of process and facts and not opinion and the panel considered 11 appeals today of which only Gareth’s was successful.

“We ensure that the original selection committee has followed the selection criteria appropriately and have made their decisions based on full and correct facts. In the case of Gareth Warburton and in light of independent legal advice, the appeals panel decided that the combination of Warburton’s current A and current B standards made him selectable under the UKA selection policy and he has been added to the team.”

5 Responses to “Warburton added to Olympic team after successful appeal”

  1. sjhew says:
    July 6, 2012 at 16:23

    All eligible athletes should be selected for the team. We should leave noone behind at a home games. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these hardworking and dedicated athletes. Sport legacy? I dont think so.

    Reply
  2. Simon says:
    July 6, 2012 at 16:30

    Hmmm????? Shoot yourself in the legal foot there Ed… "the appeals panel decided that the combination of Warburton’s current A and current B standards made him selectable under the UKA selection policy and he has been added to the team." That's funny because "the current combination of A and current B standards made ALL athletes appealing as being selectable under the UKA selection policy" and so what was actually different about Warburton's appeal…. ??

    I imagine we'll never find out…

    Reply
  3. Ray Eaton says:
    July 6, 2012 at 16:45

    Happy for Gareth. Hope a few more athletes win their appeals too.

    Reply
  4. alex_800 says:
    July 7, 2012 at 22:52

    All is forgiven. It would not have right to leave a sub 1:45 man at home.

    Reply
  5. rogerwjbell says:
    July 7, 2012 at 23:12

    There's major inconsistency in the selection process. Spaces have been left that should be filled.
    James Alaka/Richard Kilty/Danny Talbot, Thomas Farrell, Samson Oni, Tom Parsons, Alex Smith/Mark Dry, Laura Turner, Hattie Archer, Katie Byres, Abigail Irozuru, Eden Francis and Jade Nicholls could have been selected.
    For every reason you can think why they weren't selected you can find someone on the team who has been selected – whether that was not meeting the A standard twice, not meeting the A standard this summer, didn't compete at the Trials, perfomed poorly at the European Champs, have generally poor records at major champs, didn't make A standard at all, beaten by 3 other athletes at the Trials. Give athletes an equal chance.

    Reply

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