Just a day or two before the start of the athletics program we received word that the top eight sprinters in the rankings would be given a free ticket into the semifinals, leaving the rest of the field to duke it out in the heats.
Not only that, but there would be no automatic qualifiers from those heats for finishing in the top two, as is usually the case.
Instead, the entire field is running a huge time trial.
Australia’s Rohan Browning, who finished second in his heat in 10.24 said it is an unfair system that was sprung on them at the last moment.
“It’s unheard of, it’s extremely weird. It’s really hard to know, I have no idea what times have been run, I have no idea where I sit in the placings.
“It’s gusty out there, so when they just make up these rules about eight guys get to go through and the rest of us on a time trial rather than first or second across the line, the reality is some heats will have better conditions than others, so I don’t know what’s going on.
Browning made the cut in 16th and compatriot Eddie Nketia was fourth fastest with his 10.07, but before he knew that Browning revealed the whole set-up had been sprung on them.
He said he always turns up prepared to run three rounds but the other folks, including countryman Lachie Kennedy, don’t have to.
“It’s not fair, clearly it’s not fair. It’s clearly been engineered to try to achieve a desired outcome. Whatever’s motivated that decision, I don’t know what it is or if it’s reasonable or not, but clearly it’s not fair. I think everyone would agree on that.
“At the end of the day this sport is meritocracy at its finest; if you’re quick enough you go through, so I suppose you could say those guys have earned their place. In all likelihood they were probably the guys paying the best odds to make the final regardless, but you just don’t know. Some guys might be injured, some guys might be out of shape. I don’t even know when they took the performances from.”
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