Katie Taylor and Sunita Puspure secured their places on the flights for Rio yesterday and will join the swelling ranks of those that will represent Ireland in the Summer Olympics.
Selection processes were simple for both with qualification based on performance in their Respective World and Olympic Qualifying tournaments on this week.
RTE Sport was on hand to capture Taylor’s Quarter Final win and will be so again as she continues to bid for a sixth World Title in Azerbaijan.
Qualification was not so straightforward in the marathon though with a major row erupting over the non-selection of Sergio Ciobanu.
In a public war of words he claims that selection should have been based on the objective measure of the fastest times achieved. Instead though the decision was made by a selection committee at Athletics Ireland which based their decision on those they believed were most likely to perform best in Rio.
The business of qualifying for an Olympics is draining in the extreme and there will always be stories of perceived unfairness, bad luck and injury.
In a sense it adds to the drama and excitement in the run up to the games but that is scant consolation for those left behind.
Taylor’s relief at having secured a place was evident as was the delight in Fiona Doyle’s family as they watched their swimmer daughter fulfil her ambition securing qualification in Russia last year and captured as part of the Road to Rio documentary currently being aired on RTE.
Ciobanu has appealed his decision and a hearing is believed to be being held on Friday. Whenever subjective decision making comes into the mix concerning such a life defining event as qualification for the Olympics, there is bound to be a degree of anger, anxiety and frustration.
It is to be hoped that the matter can be resolved in a way that is transparent and fair on all the athletes concerned.
