100m Hurdles Team

I have needed a few days to absorb the 100m hurdle result at the Canadian Olympic trials.

My first reaction was Noooooo! How do our two best Olympic hurdlers fail to qualify for the Olympics? How do Perdita Felicien and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep not qualify for London? They were medal hopefuls. They were included in the CBC torch bearer tournament which included only eight women.

Once my shock subsided, I realized that the three women who did qualify are three women that I already follow on Twitter. They're not nobodys. Next week when Toronto is hosting track athletes, the 100m women's hurdles race (named after Randy Starkman) was the race I knew the most athletes in the starting line.

As excited as I am for Nikkita Holder and Phylicia George (as well as our Canadian pentathlon record holder Jessica Zelinka who won the race), I have to wonder whether we are sending our best to the Olympics.

Yes they were the three best on the day. Perdita Felicien false started and was disqualified. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep hit the seventh hurdle and didn't recover. They weren't their best on that day, but could they be on Olympic day? Their best could win a medal. Can Holder, George or Zelinka win a medal with their best performance? Maybe not, but I would have said the same thing about Lopes-Schliep in 2008 when she won a bronze medal.

Holder and George are heading to their first Olympic Games. They are perhaps the future of hurdles in Canada. Isn't this what I don't like about judged sports, that sometimes the best on the day doesn't get the marks? Or do I like that my favourites may get the marks on their less than ideal days?

On the night, I was thankful for the sports where they accumulate results during the year to determine who makes the Olympic team. I was thankful for the COC who name athletes to the team so they don't have to worry about that "one day".

For me, it's a bummer that we have such a depth of talent in one event. I would love to see them all go and represent our country. My heart aches for Felicien and Lopes-Schliep but the way they have handled the disappointment has increased my respect for them both.