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They started in Meilen, in Geneva, Bulle and La Chaux-de-Fonds, but suddenly they are everywhere in Europe: in Athens, in Crete (Gr), in Savona (I), Montreuil (Fr), Turku, ( Fi ) , Kladno (Tsch) or Bydgoszcz (Poland) Swiss track and field athletes are starting nowadays. “I do a lot more starts abroad than before,” says sprinter Salomé Kora (29). An international offensive? Not quite. Because nobody really wants to do it. The reason for the many long journeys is the world ranking of the International Athletics Federation. While you used to qualify for world championships and the Olympics through a qualifying limit, this is now significantly higher – there is a second qualifying path with the rankings.
The ranking works as follows: the higher the point average of the five best results, the further you are in the ranking. Points are calculated in combination of score and placement, adjusted according to the level of the meeting you are attending.
The Swiss sprinters are not classification fans
Sounds complicated? It is. “It has become a simple calculation, I don’t like it that much,” says Kora, who probably has to qualify via the standings if she wants to participate in the World Cup in Budapest in August. “It takes a little bit of the joy out of you.” Where it used to be just a matter of running as fast as possible, it is now also a matter of estimating: how many points will I get where I want to start? Who else will start and can take points away from me?
Her relay colleague Géraldine Frey, 26, says: “Sometimes I feel it’s about having a good manager who takes you to the meetings where you have the best conditions for points.” That sometimes produces strange blossoms: sprinter Sarah Atcho (27) planned an indoor start in Iceland in the winter. In Reykjavik the chances of points were not bad. The flight was booked, but in the end she didn’t make the trip because she wasn’t fit.
What speaks for the classification system
But there are also arguments that clearly speak for the world ranking. “In the past, there were many results that came about under dubious circumstances,” says Andreas Hediger, co-director at Weltklasse Zurich. In this way, this risk can be minimized.”
The world association is trying to protect itself from so-called “false results” at barely controlled field, forest and pasture gatherings somewhere in the Pampa, as they always have been in the past. “The athletes have to participate in official competitions that are well organized,” explains Hediger. “Of course there are outliers, and the system also has certain weaknesses. But it gets the athletes in the right meetings.”
But it is also clear that ranking is not an exact science. If you register for a meeting where the conditions are good and the competition was moderate last year, you may be unlucky this year and suddenly run into a strong field of participants. “Does that make my time worse just because four other athletes ran even faster?” Frey asks. “I’m not sure that’s fair.”
That’s what the association says
The association knows the problems. “The idea of the ranking, that you can qualify through multiple results, is actually impressive. In this way, questionable results can be eliminated », says Philipp Bandi, head of competitive sports at Swiss Athletics. “And it’s actually good to compete internationally on a regular basis.” But Bandi is not just a fan: “The placement score is problematic. Whether you finish 2nd or 6th in an event also depends on the competition.”
But despite all the criticism – anyone who wants to participate in the World Cup or the Olympic Games can only do one thing for the time being: Gring ache, sockle – and do math.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
