How to qualify for 2021 olympics

Hi And thanks for reading this post. How does one go about actually entering the 2021 olympics.
Who should i speak to, any organisation or person. What should my first step be. I am based in the UK
Thanks

speak to the organisation in charge of the event you’re interested in

Thanks! I don’t know who that is. The events i want to enter are the 800m and 1500m track

UK Athletics/teamGB would be your port of call. You’d have to be close to the Olympic qualifying times to be considered and if you are then I’d have thought you’d know who to ask. I was county level at those distances when I was at school.

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find a club near you. Best of luck!

The information for any athlete is on the UKA website - the A standard for 1500m is 3:35:00 and for 800m it is 1:45:20 for Tokyo this year and I would imagine they will be similar next year. That said an athlete usually has to finish in the top 2 in the UK trials AND have the A standard - there is a B standard but that is complex and is based on previous performance and or potential. That said most of the athletes in this ball park will already be on elite squad training programmes and be on UKA radar already. You can’t just walk in and say hey I’d like to qualify. Obviously if a new wonder talent turns up then their results will be scrutinised carefully (not possible at present with Covid19) and if you do fit into that category then expect UK anti doping to be all over you like a cheap suit as they are highly suspicious of people suddenly appearing from nowhere running the equivalent of 3:50 miles!..if you are already in a programme your coaching team will have all the information.

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Is it not a case of “if you need to ask…” :thinking:

Good luck!

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yep :upside_down_face:

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Chances are there might not be a 2021 Olympics.

On the plus side, that gives you another 4 years to get discovered.

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I think there will be - if by 2021 we haven’t got it sorted then the last thing any of us will be thinking about is track and field! :grin:

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We might, but what about the rest of the world? The olympics live off participation from over 200 countries, it must be safe for them to travel too.

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Fair point

England Athletics, if you’re in England

Your running club membership will make you a member, in fact your running club should be able to contact them on your behalf.

John, you’d better get your boots on if this is still accurate:

British Athletics’ standards match the IAAF’s and the GB qualification periods are as follows:
Marathon: January 1, 2019 to April 26, 2020
50km race walk: January 1, 2019 to the day of the trial in spring 2020 (exact date to be confirmed)
10,000m, 20km race walk and combined events: January 1, 2019 to June 21, 2020
All other events: May 1, 2019 to June 21, 2020

I obivously don’t know for sure but I would imagine that these dates would be pushed forward to next year so that the athletes that qualify are the best at the time of the olympics and not the year before.

Sorry, am a total amateur.
I have never done any pro training or have a coach.
I just go jogging a few times a week, and lift weights once a week
A few weeks ago i was at a track and ran the 100 meters in 10.2 secs, then the 200 meters in 20.1 secs.
People are saying to me that is not bad for a total amateur. I tried the 800 meters and completed it in 1:45.
From my inexperienced point of view i am thinking these times will not get me far, but maybe with some pro coaching and hopefully knocking a few seconds off, perhaps there is a chance.
Is it possible for me to just turn up at the olympic qualifier and enter, what is the procedure to follow. Or have i left it too late for consideration
Many thanks

Unusual for anyone to be a sprinter and an 800m runner. Never mind an Uncoached amateur.

What track were you at and whom with?

You are less than 1 second away from qualifying times.

Speak to your local club. Tell them your times. They will want to see you ASAP if those times are real.

That time (if accurate) would have made you one of the fastest 800m runners in the UK last year: https://www.runbritainrankings.com/rankings/rankinglist.aspx?event=800&agegroup=ALL&sex=M&year=2019
Suggest you get hold of your local UK Athletics affiliated running club and ask for some advice … once lockdown is over I’m guessing you’ll need to enter a UKA sanctioned event to set an officially recognised time.

This sounds unlikely - 20.1 for 200m would qualify you for the final at the World champs last year and placed you 6th in the world…jogging and lifting a few weights…sorry I don’t buy it.

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Think someone is pulling our leg here.

The key to a good wind up is being believable.

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