KEY POINTS:
World shot put champion Valerie Vili might have been a certainty for the Olympics, but that didn't dim the excitement when her ticket was finally confirmed.
Vili was today one of eight New Zealand athletes named to go to the Beijing Games in August.
"It's an exciting time
to get it signed and sealed, and have it made a done deal," she said.
Joining her will be Nick Willis (1500m), Stuart Farquhar (javelin), Beatrice Faumuina (discus), Kimberley Smith (5000m and 10,000m), James Dolphin (200m), Nina Rillstone (marathon) and Adrian Blincoe (5000m).
Former world champion Faumuina will be attending her fourth Olympics; Dolphin, Rillstone and Blincoe their first.
However, there was no place for two former Olympians, distance runners Michael Aish and Liza Hunter-Galvan. Neither was nominated by Athletics New Zealand despite posting qualifying times.
Vili, who will be going to her second Olympics having finished eighth in Athens in 2004, will visit Beijing for the first time in May for a build-up meet.
She played the down the issue of pollution in the Chinese capital, saying all her opponents would be under the same handicap.
"Everyone is going to be breathing the same smog as you are, so there's no point complaining and making a big fuss over something you can't control," he said.
"At the end of the day, my competitors will be smelling it and sniffing it, and so will I. You have to deal with it."
Vili was also comfortable with the weight of expectation on her shoulders, given her status as world outdoor and indoor champion and her No 1 ranking.
The biggest pressure, she said, was the pressure she put on herself to perform, and her reactions during a less-than-perfect training session were evidence of that.
For Faumuina, who in recent years has been struggling to match the form that brought her a world title in 1997 and Commonwealth Games gold in 1998 and 2002, there was relief at her inclusion.
"It's just a huge relief that I can say I'm going to Beijing," she said.
"It was a lovely feeling to receive the phone call yesterday."
Faumuina said the technical changes she and new coach Ross Dallow were working on were bearing fruit.
She pointed to her results at the national championships in Auckland last month, when she broke 60m three times, including an effort of 61.73m, and she was sure there was better to come.
The size of the athletics team could be increased if six others meet qualifying standards before the end of June 30.
The full list of those given added time to press their claims has not been made known, but includes 50km walker Tony Sargison and marathoners Jonathan Wyatt and Scott Winton.
Sargison and Wyatt are both in action this weekend, Sargison in Beijing and Wyatt in Zurich.
On the omission of Aish and Hunter-Galvan, Athletics NZ convenor of selectors John Bowden admitted it was a "hard call".
But he said previous performances in championships and other major events were among the selection criteria.
"It was difficult because they had done the A standard," he said.
"But in our policy, there's a wide range of issues we have to address when it comes to selection and one of them is past performances."
Bowden said Athletics NZ had a target of at least one medal and three other top-16 placings in Beijing.
- NZPA