The British Athletics Selection Controversy Explained: GB Team and policy for Budapest

Okay, Thursday, I woke up a hornet’s nest. I received a note (NOT FOR PUBLICATION), where my Senior Writer for Europe, Stuart Weir, thoughtfully took my argument on Coffee With Larry apart, piece by piece.

I came back with another CWL, and then this following piece came. 

Well done, Stuart Weir. We agree to disagree, and also, we will be bringing back our weekly conversations, The Athletics Chat! 

Please note that while we disagree, we still like each other and do not call each other names. I know that is surprising as I live in North America, but please see that as a positive thing. 

GB Team and policy for Budapest

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the 2023 World Athletics Championships has been announced.  With some additional athletes to be added, the initial team announcement comprised 51 athletes.  Even before the team announcement, there was a lot of noise surrounding team selection and the fact that some athletes had not met GB selection criteria but who were likely to receive a World Athletics invitation, which would be declined by UK Athletics.  Even RunBlogRun’s normally sedate and well-balanced editor was found to be writing under emotive headlines like “British Athletics and their 19 athletes who could go to Budapest, but BA may not allow them”.

Let’s start with the facts. To be selected for the GB team for the Worlds, an athlete needed to finish in the first two places at the UK championships and selection trials and have achieved the World Athletics qualification standard.  The selectors could add A third athlete to the two automatic selections provided the athlete had the World Athletics qualification standard. (Holding one discretionary place is a sensible approach for a country without the strength in depth of the US, for example, to allow management to select a potential medal-winning athlete who had to miss the trials through injury or whose consistent season’s high performances were not reflected on the day of the trials. It avoids the brutality of the US trials but on the other hand opens the door to controversy, appeals, etc.)

The UKA press release stated the…