The World Athletics Council on Monday announced that they will introduce a repechage round to individual track events from 200m to 1500m distance, including the hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the new repechage format, athletes who do not qualify by place in round one heats will have a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by partaking in repechage heats.This will replace the former system of athletes moving through the fastest times (q) in addition to the top placings in the first-round heats (Q).These events will now have four rounds - round one, repechage round, semi-finals and the final, with schedules varying according to the specific nature of the event.The new format means that every athlete competing in the individual events with a repechage round will have at least two races at the Olympic Games.As the 100m already has primary heats, before round one, the repechage will not be introduced in this event. In addition, the repechage will not be introduced in distance events as the need for proper recovery between rounds makes the format impractical.
"After consulting with our athletes and broadcasters, we believe this is an innovation which will make progression in these events more straightforward for athletes and will build anticipation for fans and broadcasters," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.
"The repechage rounds will give more exposure to our sport during the peak Olympic period and will be carefully scheduled to ensure that every event on our Olympic programme retains its share of the spotlight," he added. The final regulations of the format, including the timetable as well as a system of improvement in each event, will be announced well in advance of the Olympic Games.
( With inputs from ANI )
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