Sáblíková’s Olympic hopes punctured

Three-time Olympic speedskating champion and time trial cyclist Martina Sáblíková may be out of the upcoming Rio Games. On Thursday the UCI published a comprehensive list of all countries which had qualified for the event; but Sáblíková, her coach and others were shocked to learn the Czech Republic was not among them.

Martina Sáblíková, photo: Filip Jandourek

When competitor Martina Sáblíková finished 12th in her time trial at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, last year, she, her coach, the Olympic Committee and others were certain she had clinched a place on a reduced list ten of nations to qualify directly for the event at the summer Olympic Games in Rio.

Now it appears, the mission was never accomplished.

At fault may be a basic misunderstanding of the rules. Tomáš Macek is a journalist for the daily Mladá fronta Dnes, which first reported the story on Thursday. He spoke to Czech Radio’s flagship station Radiožurnál earlier:

“I think a mistake was made in the interpretation of the rules. These state that the 10 best countries in the time trial in the World Championship 2015 qualify automatically for a spot at the Olympics. But another section explains that those racing in the time trial also had to have been chosen from riders who also took part in the mass start.”

Ms Sáblíková and her team were assured they had done enough and never questioned she had qualified, accepting congratulations from various circles on her success. That dream could now be dashed. Additional spots for the time trial race were filled according to world rankings as of May 31, 2016. The Czech Republic, only 46th, was not eligible.

Martina Sáblíková, photo: Czech Television

As it stands, 18 nations with a total of 25 riders will be taking part in the time trial competition.

Learning the news, the racer’s trainer, Petr Novák, was understandably far from pleased, reacting that millions of crowns had been spent in preparing for the Olympics ‘for nothing’. Later, he expressed the hope that a solution might still be found, perhaps in the form of a wild card entry. Others aren’t as optimistic. Cycling official Miroslav Janout says the only hope is if one of the qualifying countries were to give up its spot, not that likely.

“You have a list from which 25 racers for the time trial were recruited. In my opinion it is 99 percent over.”

Martina Sáblíková herself, meanwhile, issued a statement, making clear that even if things don’t come off this year, she won’t be giving up on cycling and she also had words of thanks for her many fans and well-wishers.