KEY POINTS:
The expensive business of sending New Zealand teams to the Olympic Games has led to an increased emphasis on performance. Athletes representing this country are expected to make the top 16 in their event. Traditional Olympic ideals that stress the importance of participation have been shunted into the background. In the case of marathon runner Liza Hunter-Galvan, that is unfortunate. Her exclusion from the team flies in the face of a story that, in itself, suggests she deserves a place on the starting line in Beijing.
Hunter-Galvan has fought back from a motorway crash last year in Texas, which left her with ear, nose and hip damage, and her eldest daughter with serious head injuries. Forced to question her athletics future, she chose to draw inspiration from her daughter's plight. Last October, she recorded a personal best of 2h 30m 40s in the Amsterdam Marathon. That time, well inside the national selectors' 'A' qualifying mark of 2h 33m, suggested Hunter-Galvan deserved selection for Beijing on performance, let alone a tale rich in human spirit. Instead, the selectors decided she would not be competitive, largely because she had failed at previous major international meets.
That verdict is odd on several levels. Hunter-Galvan had met the qualifying standard, which was more stringent than that set by the IAAF. Also, any marathon is extremely unpredictable. Few forecast Lorraine Moller's bronze medal at the 1992 Games.
Unsurprisingly, Moller is one of several New Zealand athletics greats who are supporting Hunter-Galvan's quest to have the selection decision overturned. Her case goes to the Sports Tribunal next Friday. Others in her corner include Peter Snell and Rod Dixon. The tribunal should heed their call and hand her a ticket to Beijing.
