During the past 15 months British athletes have sweated, grunted and toiled for the right to earn an automatic place in the Olympic squad. Exactly 50 have made it, based on the results of last month’s UK trials. Others, like the London 2012 Super Saturday trio of Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah, are shoo-ins despite missing the trials because of their outstanding performances since qualification began in May last year.
Yet the fate of the other contenders – including household names such as the former Olympic and world champion Christine Ohuruogu and the 42-year-old super-mum Jo Pavey – will be decided on Tuesday, when selectors meet at the British Olympic Association headquarters in London, before making their decisions public 24 hours later.
The biggest call for the British Athletics performance director, Neil Black, who heads the selection panel, will be over the final place for the women’s 400m. Emily Diamond and Seren Bundy-Davies are there by right, having finished first and second in the British trials, but selectors have a fiendishly difficult decision to make between Ohuruogu and Anyika Onuora.
The 31-year-old Onuora made a compelling case on Friday when beating Ohuruogu to the bronze medal at the European Championships in Amsterdam. As she told the Observer: “I came here to do a job and I’ve done it. I know what was on the line, literally, and I’m not going to shy away from the truth. This is our reality. I’d like to think that I’ve got my place but let’s see what happens.”
As Onuora pointed out she has the better form in 2016, having also finished fourth and fifth in two Diamond League races. Her training partner Martyn Rooney, who took men’s 400m gold in Amsterdam, also believes she is good enough to reduce her personal best of 50.87 to below 50 seconds, which would put her in contention for a medal in Rio.
“That is what I have been working towards,” Onuora said. “Also the 400m is new to me. This is my second year of doing the event. I can do a lot more in the rest of 2016.”
Ohuruogu, though, has unmatched pedigree. The 32-year-old possesses two world championship gold medals from 2007 and 2013, as well as having an Olympic title from 2008 and a silver medal from 2012. And Ohuruogu believes she will again peak when it matters. “In 2007 I had one race for the world championships before winning gold,” she said. “It shows I can do it. I have a month to prepare for Rio and I’m over the slump I had earlier in the season. I feel a lot better.”
Ohuruogu had three races in Amsterdam compared with Onuora’s two, leaving her tired for the final. She also improved at a rate of knots to make the world championship final in Beijing last year. As she put it: “The 400m is a hard race to judge and peaking is always a delicate balance of timing. I am relying on the selectors and their understanding of that.” It will be close but expect Ohuruogu to get the nod, with Onuora having the consolation of a prime place in the 4x400m relay team.
Many of the decisions for the selectors appear more straightforward. In the 100m CJ Ujah will get the third place alongside James Dasaolu and James Ellington. The hugely talented Desiree Henry should be picked for the women’s 100m despite buckling over with cramp in the European Championships final. And in the men’s 200m Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, who has run sub-20 this season, will surely get the nod over Zharnel Hughes, who has struggled with injuries, for the final place.
The indications are Pavey will also earn a dramatic late call-up after finishing fifth in the 10,000m European Championships final on Wednesday night. Her chances of making it to Rio had appeared to be slipping when she finished well down the field at the British trials in May while suffering from a serious chest infection and then struggled to return to top form.
Pavey’s time of 31min 34.61sec in Amsterdam was not only inside the Olympic qualifying standard by more than 40 seconds but was also seven seconds quicker than Kate Avery, who chose to miss the European Championships after finishing third in the UK trials, has ever run. It is likely to persuade selectors to opt for Pavey to join Jessica Andrews and Beth Potter in the 10,000m – although Pavey is not counting any chickens. “It would be special to go to a fifth Olympics but I haven’t been picked yet,” she said. “It’s up to the selectors.” On Wednesday at 3pm we will know their verdict.
