THE OLYMPICS has descended into chaos on the track with athletes failing to turn up for a “brutal” new race.
Several races have seen runners withdraw while others have been undermined by athletes not attempting to win.
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That is because of a major change to determining who qualifies for the semi-finals and finals of events.
Previously the top two finishes qualified automatically with the final places made up by the fastest losers.
But in Paris a controversial new repechage system has been introduced for some events, and it has resulted in farcical scenes.
Athletes who do not qualify automatically from their heats then compete in a repechage race, offering them a lifeline to qualify for the final.
But it has led to some athletes not trying in their initial race – American 110m hurdler Freddie Crittenden decreased his effort and finished almost five seconds behind the race winner because he was carrying an injury.
He explained: “It was an intentional choice. Everyone gets through to the repechage… so I decided to just not make an emotional choice, make a smart choice, give my body time to recover a little bit.”
The repechage races have also been a bad look for the Games – in the men’s 400m repechage round on Monday eight of the 26 competitors did not show up to the start line.
That meant in one race there were more non-runners than runners, resulting in an empty track as just three athletes crossed the finish line.
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There are also questions about the reprieve the repechage offers, as those who have qualified for the final via the system have found themselves at a disadvantage due to fatigue.
Australian 1500m runner Stewie McSweyn told The Telegraph: “It’s brutal. The standard of the men’s 1500m is so good that you have 24 hours less rest than everyone else and you’re going to be really up against it.
“It’s exciting for the crowd, which I like. But it makes it difficult. I don’t think we’re going to have too many miracle stories of guys coming from the repechage into the final.”
Lithuania’s Gabija Galvydyte criticised the scheduling of the repechage and complained of fatigue after crashing out despite being one of the fastest losers in her heat.
She said: “There wasn’t enough time to recover. I raced at 8.30pm, went to sleep at 2am and then I had to wake up early for the repechage in the morning.
“I’m a bit confused that everyone makes the repechage so if you see that you’re not going to finish in the top three you can just jog and you’ll still make it. It doesn’t make sense.
“I tried to compete for third place so I went all out in my heat and finished fourth. I tried to go all the way, gave it my all, got a personal best and it cost all my emotion.”
