Athletics: Fight over non-selection of runner

By EUGENE BINGHAM

New Zealand athletics officials are battling for the inclusion of promising distance runner Michael Aish in the Sydney Olympics team.

The American-based 10,000m specialist missed out on the track and field team named by the New Zealand Olympic Committee yesterday but he may yet wear the black singlet on the start line next month.

Athletics New Zealand convener of selectors Tony Rogers has lodged an appeal with the committee, asking it to reconsider Aish, who has narrowly missed the New Zealand qualifying standard twice.

The 24-year-old's name was on the list of competitors Athletics NZ wanted to go to the Olympics but he was rejected by the NZOC. Now representatives of the committee will hear an appeal tomorrow.

Other Olympic hopefuls, including cyclist Graeme Miller, appealed against selection decisions made by their own sports, but it is rare for a sport to challenge the NZOC on behalf of an athlete.

Rogers was reluctant to discuss the merits of Aish's case yesterday, but the appeal is bound to be built around the fact that the Taranaki-born athlete has run within 5s of the New Zealand qualifying mark of 28m 05s twice this year. Both times were under the IAAF standard of 28m 10s.

Last week he flew from his home in Colorado to the Australian track and field trials in Sydney to prove himself in the 5000m, but more than 24 hours of travel took its toll and he ran a disappointing 13m 47s for fifth place.

Aish was unavailable for comment yesterday but on Saturday he said he was hoping for leniency.

"I don't think the New Zealand standard is too hard, but if you're going to make them higher than the world standards then I think there should be a little bit of leeway," he said.

"You should have the option of saying 'well, you're consistent, we'll take you anyway."'

Eight athletes were named in the Games team yesterday, including three who were not in the provisional team announced in April.

Long jumper Chantal Brunner and hammer thrower Tasha Williams were expected to be included after meeting their qualifying standards twice. Auckland discus thrower Ian Winchester was selected on the basis that he threw the required 63.50m distance in May and went within a metre of it last week at a competition in Brisbane.

Long jumper Aaron Langdon, 400m hurdler Zion Armstrong and 800m runner Shaun Farrell, slipped off the list with disappointing performances at Sydney at the weekend.

Rogers said the team's best hopes lay with walker Craig Barrett and discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina whom he believed stood chances of winning medals.

Middle distance runner Toni Hodgkinson had also shown the form to make her second Olympic 800m final.

The track and field team is the smallest in recent years. Four years ago, 18 travelled to Atlanta.

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