The qualifying system for the European Championship arouses criticism

The qualifying system of the European Championships for short distances is exciting.

In sprints and hurdles, a qualifying method is used, where the top 12 athletes in the ranking go directly to the semi-finals.

At the Birmingham Games, attention has been drawn by the fact that the rest of the places in the heats are decided directly based on time and not by heat.

Member of the board of the International Athletics Federation Antti Pihlakoski criticizes the new rule.

“I have asked who really came up with this rule. I got the answer that the matter is being investigated,” he says.

According to Pihlakoski, he had been told that the rule was already in use at the European Championships in Rome 2024. However, he does not remember seeing that line in the rules.

Qualification system has been a hot topic during the first days of the Games. Multiple Finnish champion of the 400-meter hurdles Tuija Helander criticizes the qualifying method in harsh words.

“In the language of the countryside, this is exactly what Pölhö-Kustaa is doing,” says Helander.

“When the tougher athletes make it directly to the semifinals, they miss one run, which puts the athletes in a different position. It wouldn’t be a problem for the best to jog through those heats.”

Many Finnish athletes competing in Birmingham also criticized the qualification system.

Among other things, he ran 100 meters Lotta Kemppinen and a long-winder Saara Keskitalo have highlighted problems related to the qualification system.

Since the continuation places are allocated based on the times of all runners and not on the results within the heats, the runners of the last heats can get an advantage. For this reason, among other things, the qualifiers for longer distances have been changed so that there is no time comparison in the heats.

One a significant reason for the criticism has been the fluctuating wind conditions of the games.

“We are a really even group based on the statistics. If the difference in wind conditions is one meter per second, it already makes a difference between the runners,” Kemppinen stated.

The wind proved to be a significant factor in his run. In Kemppinen’s own initial set, the wind was at zero, while in the other two sets the winds were 1.8 m/s and 3.2 m/s. He was able to continue on his own.

The change in wind was also visible Riku Illukan in the heat of the hundred meters. The headwind was no less than three meters per second. Illukka questioned the rule.

Helander emphasizes that qualifications based directly on times force athletes into unreasonable performances.

“It makes the athletes run at full speed even in the heats. Especially in the 400 meters and the 400 meter hurdles, which are acid distances, it’s completely unreasonable.”

“This is absolutely bullshit, that they are injected to pull the organ open.”

In his opinion, the situation is not fair for athletes.

“Nowadays we talk about equality and equality. Why hasn’t anyone appealed to the human rights court about this? That’s not equal.”

To the ranking there are also grounds for semi-final places based on

According to Pihlakoski, the qualifying system aims to ensure the interest of the European Championships.

According to him, the ranking qualification is essential especially in those years when the Olympics are organized in addition to the European Championships. He was involved in approving that decision.

“We concluded that in terms of the value of the games, it is better that the best athletes are there. That is why we wanted to lighten the load on the top athletes in order to maintain the level of the games,” he says.

Helander also understands the decision in terms of the attractiveness of the Games. According to him, the problem with the European Championships has been that the best athletes do not want to take unnecessary risks during the Olympic years.

However, he emphasizes that the competition is more important for the athletes than for the public.

“At the end of the day, these games are not for us bench athletes. I hope that someone who is more affected by the matter would step up to the barricades,” says Helander.

It is not yet known whether the criticized decision will be changed in the future. However, according to Pihlakoski, the situation is being analyzed all the time.