PNG eyeing spot at Paris Olympics under university rule

THE Athletics PNG is looking at the possibility of sending a sprinter to qualify for a spot in the Paris Olympic Games this year, president Tony Green says.
Green said countries that have no qualified athletes for the Paris Olympics, PNG included, were guaranteed one place under the universality rule.
He said Athletics PNG was forced to rethink its selection policy in January after a major change in the qualification pathway was announced last year.
“The major change this time around, we can only nominate for the 100m or the marathon (or in very limited circumstances the 800m),” Green said.
“What this means for PNG is that we have to be prepared for the possibility that we will be selecting an athlete for the 100m.
“However it is considered unfair to restrict our selection to those athletes who specialise in 100m because we have a lot of sprinters who have represented us well at the Pacific Games over a number of years.”
Those believed to be aiming for consideration include but are not limited to Isila Apkup, Pais Wisil, Adrine Monagi and Leonie Beu.
For the 2020 Tokyo Games, Olympic scholarship holder Rellie Kaputin was selected because her world ranking was higher than any other PNG athlete.
Hence, Kaputin knows that to make it this time, she has to qualify through the rankings.
Green said Athletics PNG was liaising with PNG Olympic Committee, who were supporting the athletes’ preparations with a total of K80,000 this year, much of which is from the Australian Olympic Committee through the Aus Sport Programme.