Team GB's fastest man in 32 years was blocked from joining Olympics squad
Phil Norman was one of numerous athletes to be snubbed by British selectors for the Paris Olympics despite being high enough in the rankings to take part
UK Athletics is under mounting pressure to drop a controversial selection policy which led to Olympic heartbreak for numerous athletes. Despite setting the fastest time by a Briton in 32 years, Phil Norman, a 3,000m steeplechaser, was denied a spot at the Paris Games.
The 34-year-old delivered a career-best performance earlier this year, clinching the national title with a time of 8:18.65, the quickest by a Brit since 1992. Although his performance placed him high enough in the world rankings to receive an invitation to the Olympics, he fell short of UK Athletics' (UKA) internal standard for selection by just 0.15 seconds.
The benchmark, intended to mirror the standard needed to finish in the top eight at the Olympics, has sparked outcry. Norman wasn't the only athlete to miss out due to the policy, with Anna Purchase, Jade Lally, Jake Norris, Hannah Nuttall, Kenneth Ikeji and Amelia Campbell also being overlooked.
Related articles
World-ranked 15th hammer thrower Norris expressed his disappointment, fuming: "I feel truly betrayed that I meet the true aim of the current selection policy, but I am still not eligible to be selected because of an arbitrary standard set too high."
Norman has called on UKA to reconsider its stance by initiating a petition, which has garnered 10,000 signatures within a month. He said: "I fought tooth and nail with help of legal counsel and the UKA athletes commission to appeal this decision but unfortunately my appeal was rejected due to 0.15s over 3,000m.
"This season I was British champion, ran the fastest time by a British athlete since 1992 and broke the championship record which had stood since 1990. I am now ranked sixth fastest of all-time on British rankings.
"In the eyes of UKA I am not good enough. Physically I am in the shape and form of my life. But mentally and emotionally I have nothing left to give."
However, UKA chair Ian Beattie has defended the body's stringent Olympic selection policy. In a column for Athletics Weekly, he said "an athlete getting to the Olympics with little chance of qualifying from their heat or pool, does not have a significant impact on inspiring the nation, and therefore does not merit public funding".
Beattie continued: "I have always believed setting tough standards helps improve performance levels. The philosophy around selection being based on world-class performance is not going to change so the challenge ahead for all athletes is to raise their levels of performance."
