There has been much recent comment about the size of the athletics team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics Games. When the team size was finalised on 23 August, 9 athletes were confirmed to represent New Zealand in the "blue riband" sport of the Olympic Games. Two hundred and seven countries will enter athletes into the track and field events at the Sydney Olympic Games.
New Zealand's representation in Track and Field Athletics at the Olympic Games has always been subject to public and media debate. The table below shows that representation at each Olympic Games since Munich in 1972.
| Athletics Team | Medals Won | Others placed in top 16 | ||
| 1972 | Munich | 16 | 1 | 3 |
| 1976 | Montreal | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 1980 | Moscow | 8 (selected) | ||
| 1984 | Los Angeles | 13 | 0 | 6 |
| 1988 | Seoul | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 1992 | Barcelona | 13 | 1 | 3 |
| 1996 | Atlanta | 18 | 0 | 4 |
| 2000 | Sydney | 9 |
The average team size of athletics from 1972 to 1996 was 11. The 1992 and 1996 New Zealand athletics teams had a number of "B" qualified athletes in the team. In fact, had the same standards and selection criteria currently being used for Sydney, been applied for the Atlanta Games athletes, the athletics team size would have been just 6 athletes. Interestingly, the last time the Olympics were held in Australia, Melbourne 1956, there were also nine athletes in the athletics team.
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In terms of team performances, the 1976 and 1984 Games (as well as 1980 of course when New Zealand did not send athletes) were "boycott" Games, when first the African nations, and secondly the "Eastern Bloc" nations did not participate. These "boycott games" almost certainly, in one or two events, enhanced the number of top 16 placings that New Zealand athletes were able to achieve.
I remember, immediately after the 1996 Atlanta Games being told by a high ranking official that the performance of the athletics section in Atlanta was a "disgrace". The athletics team performance in Atlanta was described as "miserable", "too large a team", and "full of crocks", "Future funding would be dependent upon a change in attitude" was the statement made by a funding agency. Over the past four years Athletics New Zealand changed its philosophy in regard to representation at the World Championships and Olympic Games to have teams of Quality, not Quantity. They raised the selection standards, and put in place measures that prevent injured athletes from starting. One of the consequences of these measures is that New Zealand has smaller athletics teams - but not smaller teams of a similar ability, but smaller teams of a higher standard - exactly what was required of Athletics New Zealand to focus on in the aftermath of Atlanta. Athletics New Zealand took the requirement of funding agencies on board in 1996 and took the necessary measures. Athletics is now being critisised for having a small (but quality) team for Sydney!
But New Zealand is not alone in this quest for quality rather than quantity. A number of countries have recently selected their athletics teams for Sydney. Germany, the second ranked athletics nation in the world will be taking its smallest athletics team to an Olympic Games since unification in 1990. Seventy athletes will represent Germany in track and field athletics in Sydney. Germany took 91 athletes to the 1996 Atlanta Games. Germany "toughened" their selection criteria for the Sydney Games.
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There has been recent comment also about the "mix" of athletes in the New Zealand team for Sydney. There will be four runners/walker and five field event athletes representing New Zealand in Sydney. This is in stark contrast to previous New Zealand Olympic teams when there was a preponderance of distance athletes. Of the six athletes who represented New Zealand at the Seoul Olympics, five were middle and long distance runners. Such is the change of dominance of events in New Zealand athletics.
Russia will take 100 athletes to Sydney, but will not be represented at men's 1500m, men's 5000m and only one athlete (of the three allowed) will represent Russia in the men's 10000m. Great Britain will not be represented in the Men's 5000m, 3000m Steeplechase, Long Jump, Shot, Hammer, and will have no representation in the Women's 200m, High Jump, Discus and Javelin. In many of these events Great Britain has produced Olympic Gold medallists at previous Olympic Games! Sweden, a country two and a half times larger than New Zealand, has thirteen athletes entered, with twelve of these entered into field events - they have only one athlete competing on the track. Denmark, a country with a larger population than New Zealand will field just four competitors, - one of which is a former Kenyan middle distance star.
The maximum number of athletes able to be selected for any one country is 126 athletes (42 events with a maximum of three athletes from any one country per event). The International Amateur Athletic Federation and the International Olympic Committee set a minimum qualifying standard for entry to each event. These minimum qualifying standards have to be adopted by each National Athletics Federation in the selection of their team. New Zealand does not use the minimum standard that many other countries use - it uses a standard well above the minimum. Were it to have used the minimum standard, the Sydney team size would have almost been double the current team number.
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Some of the countries that have already selected their athletics team is given below:
| Country | Population (millions) | Athletics Team size (max. 126) |
| USA | 274.0 | 117 |
| Brazil | 166.5 | 18 |
| Russia | 147.7 | 111 |
| Japan | 127.1 | 35 |
| Germany | 82.2 | 70 |
| France | 58.7 | 46 |
| Great Britain | 58.6 | 58 |
| Kenya | 29.0 | 27 |
| Canada | 30.7 | 42 |
| Australia | 18.7 | 84 |
| Czech Republic | 10.3 | 23 |
| Hungary | 10.2 | 38 |
| Portugal | 9.8 | 23 |
| Sweden | 8.9 | 13 |
| Switzerland | 7.2 | 7 |
| Slovakia | 5.4 | 16 |
| Denmark | 5.3 | 4 |
| Finland | 5.2 | 24 |
| New Zealand | 3.8 | 9 |
No country, despite their population, will field the maximum number of competitors they are allowed in track and field events. You would think that countries with huge populations should be able to select the three athletes for each track and field event that they are allowed. The fact that they cannot, emphasises the diversity and comparative standards of each track and field event in the world. Again, two hundred and seven countries will contest the athletics competition in Sydney. It truly is a world wide sport with very high standards exhibited throughout the world. At the last World Athletics Championships in Seville in 1999, medals were won by athletes from 42 countries, whilst 57 countries provided athletes who finished in the top eight in their event. Conversely, 165 countries at the World Championships did not produce a medallist, whilst 150 countries could not produce an athlete who finished in the top eight in their event. New Zealand, produced two top eight finishers at Seville (Craig Barrett, and Beatrice Faumuina).
The athletics team for Sydney is a quality team. Internationally we are a small nation when it comes to track and field. Using the International Amateur Athletic Federation scoring tables New Zealand ranks in the top one-third of all track and field nations. Given the financial resources and more particularly the coaching resources that we have available, we do exceptionally well.
Cool Running 28.08.00.
