Team GB Selection Policies for Paris 2024

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

In between collating results from various events, I have been taking a look at the selection policies across various sports for athletes hoping to make it to Paris on Team GB, and for the benefit of those who may be interested, but have better things to do with their time, I thought I would try to gather them all here in a single thread.  

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

 Archery 

 

 

Policy Document:

Microsoft Word - Paris 2024 Olympics Selection Policy (FINAL).docx (archerygb.org)

 

 

Key Points:

• Qualification for Olympic Games Selection event was based on performance across the 2023 GB National Tour. The top performing athletes from the tour will be invited to take part in the selection process.
• Selection Shoot 1 - To take place in early March 2024 with up to 12 athletes taking part. The top 6 performing athletes will progress to Stage 2.
• Selection Shoot 2 - To take place in late March 2024. The top 4 athletes will progress to Stage 3. The top 4 athletes will also be nominated to World Cup 1 in Shanghai.
• Selection Shoot 3 - Final stage in selection process to take place in April 2024.

 

Additional Factors:

• Any athlete winning a medal at 2023 international events - World Cup, World Championships or European Games, will be awarded bonus points.
• In order to be considered for selection shoot, each athlete will be required to achieve minimum score of 640 for men and 610 for women.
• By the end of Selection Shoot 2, athletes will be required to achieve enhanced minimum qualification standards of 655 for men and 635 for women.

 

Quota Allocation:

• In the event that a team quota is not achieved, the individual quota won at European Games will be awarded to the athlete who has the highest world ranking (taking into account only outdoor performances)
• If an individual quota is won at the 2024 continental championship or final qualification tournament and no team quota is won, then the athlete who wins the quota will be nominated.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Assuming everyone who participated are eligible to compete for GB, then I think that the following archers should be eligible for invitation to participate in Selection Shoot event next year based on their performance in 2023 National Tour:

 

Women:

Penny Healey

Bryony Pitman

Sarah Bettles

Thea Rogers

Megan Havers

Yulia Hinckley

Malgorzata Sobieraj

Louisa Piper

Jaspreet Sagoo

Sarah Russell

 

Men:

Monty Orton

James Woodgate

Conor Hall

Steve Davies

Alex Wise

Tom Hall

Roger Castillo-Alquezar

Michael Judd

Anthony Wood

 

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Cycling 

 

 

 

Policy Document:

Paris_2024_Olympic_Games_Selection_Policy.pdf (britishcycling.org.uk)

 

 

Key Points:

• Athletes who are interested in being on the squad need to submit expression of interest.
• Decisions will be made by selection panel taking into account recommendations of coaches and relevant international performances.
• Panel can take into account riders "commitment to the team" and co-operation "with planned team training sessions." 
• Panel can give preference to those riders who will be able to double up. 

 

The policy is pretty light on detail and objective performance metrics. Instead, it seems to give a lot of power to coaches and a closed-door selection panel. I'd like to assume that more information has been shared with the athletes.

 

That being said, I don't think the selection for cycling squad is going to prove controversial - there will be interesting discussion about the road team but there are a strong group of riders who will likely be selected. The most challenging selection decisions likely to be around the 2nd line riders for men's and women's mountain biking and men's BMX racing where there are at least a couple of contenders. 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

In Men's mountain bikiing the favourite for Man 2 has to be the new world U23 champ, surely, just future proofing alone - he frankly looks the business already - maybe not a medal shout, but a strong rider

 

In women's mountain biking I half wonder if Zoe Backstedt, given her cyclocross experience and talent might be an outside chance, though I imagine annie Last is still in poll position

 

I'm not up enough on the current state of Men's BMX racing to guess who man 2 is going to be - surprises are nice!

 

On the road, Adam Yates is making a valiant effort to single handedly keep GBR in the seat for 4 riders, but it still comes down to Lombardia IMHO; if the yates boys go and do a decent rider, there's a chance.

 

On Paris, can't help thinking the best man GBR have got for such a course is Pidcock (think Liege), but doubling up isn't sensible. Assuming they want to save a TT seat for Tarling at the minimum, Pidcock isn't doubling, and Hayter will be back on the track, are we talking Yates, Yates, Thomas?

 

For the women, I'm assuming Zoe B and Anna Henderson for the TT, plus Pfeiffer Georgi...

 

On the track, the two pursuit squads seem settled, though GBR men obviously need to go chasing points. The women's sprint is suddenly in clover, but the men's sprint is still a bit meh.

 

As for Ireland, fewer choices, but not without excitement - I reckon Dunbar and Healy, with Healy an outside shout for a RR medal

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Badminton

 

 

Policy Document:

FINAL-Paris-2024-Badminton-Olympic-Selection-Appeal-Policy.pdf (badmintonengland.co.uk)

 

 

Key Points:

• Any singles player insider the top-16 of the Race to Paris Ranking List will be automatically selected.
• For singles players ranked outside of the top-16 of Race to Paris Ranking List, they will require a World Ranking of at least 75 as at end of Apr-24 to be considered for selection. 
• When considering singles players, consideration will be given to their position in the world ranking, their results at Tier 1 events - e.g. Sudirman Cup, World Championships, Thomas Cup - alongside their performance against players ranked inside the top-16. 
• Any doubles team insider the top-8 of the Race to Paris Ranking List will be automatically selected.
• For doubles teams ranked outside of the top-8 of Race to Paris Ranking List, they will require a World Ranking of at least 25 as at end of Apr-24 to be considered for selection. 
• As per process for singles selection, when considering doubles teams, consideration will be given to their position in the world ranking, their results at Tier 1 events - e.g. Sudirman Cup, World Championships, Thomas Cup - alongside their performance against players ranked inside the top-16.

 

Additional Factors:

• Document includes reference to "future Olympic medal potential" which will allow the selection panel to select a lower ranked player/team if they believe that they have potential for a top-8 finish in LA 2028.
• The future potential clause can only be exercised where declining the quota of the higher ranked player/team would not result in  losing the quota. 

 

Badminton probably had one of the most contentious selections going into Tokyo 2021 when Ben Lane and Sean Vendy were selected for the men's doubles ahead of 2016 bronze medalists Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis. That was despite Langridge and Ellis being the higher ranked pairing and being both Commonwealth and European champions.  It is unlikely that we will have a repeat of this controversy ahead of Paris - not because the selection policy prevents it, but rather GB's badminton performance has dropped off so the selections should be relatively straightforward.

 

Athletes in the mix for GB Selection:

 

Women's Singles - Kirsty Gilmour - she's pretty much nailed on for selection - barring injury - as she currently sits 27th in World Ranking and is in line for 18th quota. 

 

Men's Singles - Johnnie Torjussen or Rohan Midha could squeeze in. Both have World Ranking around 140-150 so would need a big shift up to be considered. Currently Midha is ranked 110 in the Race to Paris with the last quota currently being awarded at 85 so not beyond the realms of possibility that he could be awarded a quota but it is unlikely. 

 

Women's Doubles - No team is currently in a qualifying position but we do have a couple of pairings that are not a million miles away from the cut-off. Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith are 31 in World Ranking and 42 in Race List whilst Julie Macpherson and Ciara Torrance are ranked 36 and 47. Both teams are over 10,000 points shy of a qualifying spot so they need to put a major shift on if they hope to qualify. 

 

Men's Doubles - Lane/Vendy are in the box seat for selection as they currently sit 18th in World Ranking and 21st in Race to Paris. This is one of the events where there is a chance (albeit very slim) that GB could get 2 quotas. Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall would be the second pairing. They are currently ranked 28th in World and 26th on Race List. Even if they don't get a 2nd quota, this is an event where selectors could reject the first named pairing without losing the quota. 

 

Mixed Doubles - Historically GB's best event in badminton. Whilst there are 3 teams that could have an argument for selection, Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith have to be regarded as favourite. They are 28 in World Ranking and 21 in the Race List. Gregory Mairs and Jenny Mairs are not a million miles behind them at 34 in the world and 39 in race list. Finally Adam Hall and Julie Macpherson are 39 in world ranking and 52 in the race list.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Judo

 

 

Policy Document:

2024_GBJudo_PARIS_OLYMPIC_GAMES_SELECTION-PROCEDURE.pdf (britishjudo.org.uk)

 

 

Key Points:

• Athletes will be selected where they are the only British athlete to have secured direct qualification by finishing in the top 17 of the Olympic Qualification List.
• Athletes receiving a continental quota will be selected to the team.
• Where 2 (or more) athletes would be eligible for direct qualification via the Olympic qualification list, priority will be given to any athlete who would be a top 8 seed in Paris. Where no athlete would be seeded, the performance at 2024 World Championships will determine selection. If the athletes can't be separated under this criteria, the selection panel will review their performances across the qualification window. 

 

Additional Factors:

• As with other selection policy, the document includes reference to "future potential" which will allow the selection panel to select a lower ranked athlete if they believe that they have potential to medal in LA 2028.

 

Realistically, this should be one of the more straightforward selection policies as the quotas will be earned by a specific athlete based on their performance over the last 2 years and their position in the Olympic Qualification List. Unlike nations such as Japan, there are relatively few weight classes where GB look like there is a realistic possibility that they will have 2 athletes who would be eligible for selection - Women's 57Kg, 70Kg and 78Kg. 

 

To all intents and purposes, Chelsie Giles (52Kg) has already been selected. Lucy Renshall is also looking pretty secure for selection. In the 78Kg class, at the moment, Nathalie Powell would be likely to get the nod over Emma Reid but there's not a huge amount of clear water between them. Likewise, the selection decision in the 70Kg class is likely to be finely balanced with Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown being in a qualifying position but having a lower world ranking than Kelly Petersen-Pollard who is currently just outside of the quota places. 

 

GB have 3 world class athletes in the 57Kg weight class - Lele Nairne, Acelya Toprak and Nekoda Smythe-Davis - but it is becoming a bit of a mess in terms of selection. We've already seen a successful appeal against non-selection for the European Champs by Smythe-Davis and I don't think the situation is likely to improve any time soon. Until last year, Toprak was the top ranked GB athlete in the class but since then, she has been overshadowed by both Nairne and Smythe-Davis who is returning after her maternity leave. Nairne started the qualification window strongly but since then, Smythe-Davis has gradually closed the gap and currently sits as the only GB athlete in a quota position - but she is just 29 points ahead of Nairne. To complicate the selection further, Smythe-Davis has the lowest world ranking of the 3. 

 

On the men's side, we are probably relying on a continental quota which would go to either Moorhead (81Kg) or Petgrave (90Kg). Unfortunately, Sam Hall who is probably one of the stronger prospects on the men's side was injured for much of the 1st qualification period and he has now moved up a weight class to 66Kg so although he has had a couple of good results, he is starting from a very low base. 

 

We are coming into a key competition period for GB athletes in the next few weeks with the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam followed by the European Champs and culminating in the Perth Oceania Open. How they perform - particularly the men - could have significant impact on their Olympic ambitions.  

 

 

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Athletics - Track & Field

 

With the Road To Paris tool now live, it is as good a time as any to look at what will probably be the most controversial selection policy of the lot.

 

Policy Document:

2024-Olympic-Games-Track-and-Field-Selection-Policy-July2023_Final.pdf (uka.org.uk)

 

 

Key Points:

• They have decided to stick with the same basic selection policy used for this year's world Champs.
• The selection event for 10000m will be on 18-May whilst the wider UK Athletics trials are scheduled for 28-30th June.
• In order to be considered for selection, athletes must meet 3 criteria - 1.) Meet eligibility criteria (age, passport etc.); 2.) Have achieved the World Athletics qualification standard or, where available, the UKA Selection standard; and 3.) Show current form.
• The selection process will be managed in 5 tranches:

1. The top 2 finishers at the trials will be automatically selected if they have the world Athletics qualifying standard. 
2. Any individual medalist from Budapest World Championship will be selected in the corresponding event.
3. Eligible athletes with the World Athletics qualifying standards 
4. World Athletics ranking invites for athletes with UKA selection standard - NB there are no UKA selection standards for any events between 200m - 5000m, the 400m hurdles and the women's 3000m steeplechase. UK Athletics will not accept any WA ranking invites in these events.
5. Relay selection.

 

Additional Factors:

• Attendance at the trials is described as "compulsory" but as always it will be more compulsory for some than others 
• The requirement to show current form will relate to performances between 1-Apr - 30-Jun 2024.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Rafa Maciel

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Athletics - Marathon

 

 

Policy Document:

2024-Olympic-Games-Marathon-Advance-Information-1.pdf (uka.org.uk)

 

 

Key Points:

• There are 3 rounds of selection spread over 2 selection meetings
• 1st selection meeting is scheduled for 19-Feb where up to 2 athletes will be selected.
• Athletes selected in round 1 will have achieved a top-8 finish at the 2023 Budapest World Championship (Spoiler alert: nobody will be selected under this criteria)
• Athletes selected in round 2 will have achieved the World Athletics qualifying standard and have demonstrated potential to achieve a top-8 finish in Paris. 
• The second selection meeting is scheduled for 22-Apr.
• Athletes selected in round 3 will have achieved the World Athletics qualifying standard and have demonstrated potential to achieve a top-8 finish in Paris. 

 

Additional Factors:

• Preference will likely be given to athletes achieving the qualifying standard before 19-Feb as this will give the athlete time to prepare adequately with a view to maximising performance at Paris.

 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

1 hour ago, Rafa Maciel said:

Athletics - Marathon

 

 

Policy Document:

2024-Olympic-Games-Marathon-Advance-Information-1.pdf (uka.org.uk)

 

 

Key Points:

• There are 3 rounds of selection spread over 2 selection meetings
• 1st selection meeting is scheduled for 19-Feb where up to 2 athletes will be selected.
• Athletes selected in round 1 will have achieved a top-8 finish at the 2023 Budapest World Championship (Spoiler alert: nobody will be selected under this criteria)
• Athletes selected in round 2 will have achieved the World Athletics qualifying standard and have demonstrated potential to achieve a top-8 finish in Paris. 
• The second selection meeting is scheduled for 22-Apr.
• Athletes selected in round 3 will have achieved the World Athletics qualifying standard and have demonstrated potential to achieve a top-8 finish in Paris. 

 

Additional Factors:

• Preference will likely be given to athletes achieving the qualifying standard before 19-Feb as this will give the athlete time to prepare adequately with a view to maximising performance at Paris.

 

Slightly odd 'Additional factors' - wonder where it puts Eilish McColgan. The women's side is quite strong  in depth if not in Elite talent, so Eilish is presumably going to have to do a good run in London. That said, she has 10k to fall back on.

 

On the men's side, I think only Cairess has the time, and a top 5 place in London, so it would SEEM he's likely to get the early nod. Callum Hawkins may well have an advantage in later meetings if he can get race fit and bag a time because of his high placing history - much easier to argue top eight potential when he's been 10th and 2 4ths. After that, there are a decent number of guys coming through at slightly shorter distances who may make their mark at London.