Lennie Waite Left Off British World Championship Team
Lennie Waite Left Off British World Championship Team
For the first time in her running career, Rogue A.C.’s Lennie Waite achieved the IAAF Standard to compete at the World Championships in Beijing. On July 4, Waite won the steeplechase at the British Trials and on July 22 she ran 9:40.39 in the steeplechase, four seconds below the qualifying mark to be considered to represent her country of Great Britain.
As of today, Waite has not been selected to represent Team Great Britain at the World Championships. The national champion is the only British steeplechaser to have achieved the IAAF qualifying mark.
“To guarantee selection for Britain, I had to run the standard twice. I progressed consistently this season, running 9:50, 9:46, 9:45, and then 9:40. However, I only ran under 9:44 once. Because of this, my selection was up to a committee and ultimately, the committee decided to deny me the opportunity to race at the World Championships,” Waite wrote in her blog.
Waite has indeed progressed consistently this season. Starting in May, she cut her personal best down from 9:48 to 9:40, and earned a dominant 14-second victory at the Sainsbury’s British Championships, which acted as the British team trials.
She is currently in a process to appeal the British committee’s decision with the hope of representing Great Britain on the starting line in Beijing. Many have already taken to social media with the hashtag #letlennierun to help Waite appeal the decision.
I've never understood why a federation would choose to not let a capable athlete represent their country #letlennierun
— Kyle Merber (@TheRealMerb) July 28, 2015
What a disservice to track & field. A Lennie-less team is a lesser team. #LetLennieRun @lenniew8 http://t.co/8UELhAkHr9
— Becky Wade (@bexwade89) July 28, 2015
“I will fight to appeal this decision, and I hope to prove my case. Regardless of the outcome, I will pick myself up again and get ready for the next opportunity. I live for a challenge, and this is just one more barrier that I must hurdle,” Waite writes.
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