The approach is not unique, but it remains exceptional nonetheless. Less than a year before the event, while ticketing has already started in Japan and the rest of the world, an athlete has very officially requested a change in the program of athletics events for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The athlete in question is not unknown. Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 25, doesn't just get her reputation from a habit of changing her hair color according to her mood. The Bahamian has held the Olympic 2016m title since the Rio 400 Games. Above all, she has just won the final victory in the Diamond League in Zurich over another distance, the 200 m, in 21 sec 74, the fastest time of the Olympiad.
Determined to join Frenchwoman Marie-José Pérec in history, Shaunae Miller-Uibo asked the IAAF for a change in the program for the Tokyo 2020 Games. With the stated objective of doubling 200 and 400 m. Clarification: the Bahamian has been undefeated over both distances for two years.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo explained her approach to NBC. She confided that she had given up on doubling the two events at the Doha Worlds this year (September 27 to October 6), due to a program ill-suited to such a challenge. She wants to double at the Tokyo Games. But it will only do so on the condition that the IAAF, the IOC and the organizing committee accede to its request.
On paper, the schedule of athletics events at the Tokyo 2020 Games in its current version makes this task possible. The first round of the 400m takes place on the same day as the 200m final. The semi-finals of the track tour are scheduled for the next day. Possible but dangerous.
The athlete from Nassau agrees: “ This remains quite delicate. I'm asking for a little more time between events, so that I can complete the three laps of the 200m before fully concentrating on the 400m. The change would only affect one day. I made my request, I hope it will be heard. »
Asked by NBC, an IAAF spokesperson confirmed that Shaunae Miller-Uibo's request was under consideration. But the IAAF is not the sole decision-maker. The question will also have to be discussed with the IOC and the Japanese organizers.
For the IAAF, the file is not simple. Accepting Shaunae Miller-Uibo's request would require her to review her program, less than a year before the event, while places for the athletics events are already on sale. Conversely, a refusal on his part could be judged discriminatory. In the recent past, the IAAF has already modified the program to favor the double desire of two big names in world athletics: Michael Johnson at the Atlanta Games in 1996, then Allyson Felix at the Rio Games in 2016. Two Americans.
The Bahamian is not unaware of this. She plans to play it. “ I know that in the past things may have changed for some athletes, she confided this week on the sidelines of the Zurich meeting. I just hope they can make the change for me too. » The ball is in the IAAF’s court.
