(ABC Sports)
Just a day or two before the start of the track and field program, we received news that the top eight sprinters in the rankings would get free tickets to the semi-finals, while the rest would have to battle it out in the heats.
Moreover, these races will not have automatic qualifications for finishing in the top two, as is usually the case.
Instead, the entire team goes through a huge race against the clock.
Australian Rohan Browning, who finished second in his heat in 10:24, said they were subjected to an unfair system at the last minute.
“This is unheard of, this is extremely strange. It’s really hard to understand, I have no idea how much time was spent, I have no idea where I am in the rankings.
(Getty Images)
“There’s gusty winds, so when they just set these rules that eight guys have to go through and the rest of us are racing against the clock and not being first or second across the finish line, the reality is that some races are going to have better conditions than others, so I don’t know what’s going on.
Browning finished in 16th place and his compatriot Eddie Nketiah was fourth fastest with his 10.07, but before he knew it Browning discovered that the entire formation was planned around them.
He said he always turns up ready to go three rounds, but others, including compatriot Lachie Kennedy, don’t have to.
“It’s not fair, obviously it’s not fair. This was clearly designed to try to achieve the desired result. Whatever the motivation behind this decision, I don’t know what it is, whether it is reasonable or not, but it is obvious that it is unfair. I think everyone will agree with that.”
“At the end of the day, this sport is meritocracy at its finest; if you’re fast enough you’ll succeed, so I guess you could say these guys have earned their spot. In all likelihood, they were probably the guys who paid the best odds to get to the finals no matter what, but you just don’t know. Some guys might be injured, some might be out of shape. I don’t even know when they pulled their shows.”