Hurdle runners Topi Raitanen and Ilona Mononen are about to join the Olympics from last place in the ranking.
14:03•Updated 14:05
Steeplechase runners Top Raitanen and Ilona Mononen are of the latest ranking list updates on the basis of being able to participate in the Paris Olympics. 36 athletes can participate in the five-ring competition, and both Finns are currently in the last places.
A maximum of three athletes can be selected for one sport. There are no less than four eligible Swedish athletes ahead of Raitanen in the ranking, but the Olympic committee of the western neighbor does not qualify any of them for Paris.
After the Kaleva Games, Raitanen already said goodbye to the idea of an Olympic trip, but several absences from before have changed the situation in a more favorable direction.
– I know that those countries have strict systems. It’s not fair for the athletes that strict decisions are made in some countries and not in others, Raitanen, the European champion from two years ago, told Urheilu at the beginning of the week.
For the 20-year-old Monose, the Olympic trip would be the first of his career. He succeeded excellently at the European Championships in Rome by running sixth with a new SE time of 9:23.28.
– I don’t count those points myself. I probably should have run harder if I wanted to improve those points, but that’s how it goes, Mononen said after the Kaleva Games.
The Finnish Olympic Committee will confirm the final competition selections for Paris on Monday. The preliminaries of the women’s 3,000-meter hurdles are on August 4, and the men’s meet the following day.