Olds throwing athlete and coach Rachel Andres is focusing now on making the Canadian track and field team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo after finishing second in discus at the Nationals.
During an email exchange with the Albertan, Andres described her experience during the Nationals (held July 25-28 in Montreal) as "pretty good."
"(I tossed) my third best throw of the season with a throw of 57.30 metres (m). I couldn’t quite get a hold of the throw I was looking for to break the national record of 59.58 m though and ended up taking second to Agnes Esser who threw a 58.80 m," she wrote.
"It was a stiff competition with both of us opening with 54 m throws. She proceeded to throw her best on her second throw while my second and third were both 56 m tosses.
"One was only five feet off the ground, so that would’ve likely been the toss I wanted if I’d gotten it higher. That’s the way discus works, a slight technical change can make huge differences," she added.
Andres said her experience in Montreal has left her feeling positive as she sets her sights on Tokyo.
"This competition has just served to show me where I need to still keep working," Andres wrote. "This has been my best season in my 23 years of competing and is sure to improve as I continue to make adjustments to my technical form."
However, Andres says improving her technical form is not the only challenge to earning a berth on the Canadian Olympic team. She says the new Olympic world ranking system is also a challenge for athletes in North America.
"The new Olympic world ranking system makes meets in Europe weigh heavier than any meets that are held in North America," she wrote.
"For example, a first place finish in Canada garners 15 additional points added to the points my distance earns me. Most meets in Europe carry high level certifications meaning 120 bonus points or more are possible just for being a part of the meet, which can make a huge difference when averaged between five meets.
"Say I throw exactly 56 m at five meets, earning 1,000 points for the throw and then 15 points for the first place finish. That averages to 1,015 points across the five meets and being number 75 in the ranking list.
"Those same distances done at a high level certification meet are suddenly worth 1,000 points plus 120 bonus points, making the average 1,120 and jumping to the top 15 in the world," Andres added.
She said she can automatically qualify by throwing the Olympic standard of 63.50 m, or being ranked among the top 32 in the world.
"It is a complicated system that seems to favour the eastern hemisphere far above the western hemisphere, making it difficult for anyone (who) doesn’t have funds to actually qualify for the Olympics," Andres wrote.
As a result, she said, she's looking for sponsors to help her get to the meets "that hold the most weight for world ranking purposes" in Europe and Australia.
Specifically, she's hoping to attend IAAF (International Association of Athletic Federations) Diamond League meets in Europe because she says that league "has stiff competition and high point value."
