Carmelita Jeter brings home the baton to earn the US godl in the 4x100m at the London 2012 Games. The IAAF have now agredd qualifying times for the Rio 2016 Games ©Getty Images

Single entry standards for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have been approved by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) at the world governing body’s Council meeting in Beijing.

Standards for 2016 World Indoor Championships were also released and next year’s Diamond League calendar approved.

The Olympic standards follow the pattern established by the IAAF for their 2015 World Championships in Beijing, in that single entry standards for each gender have been announced rather than A and B standards.

The Olympic standards are marginally higher in a number of cases.

For instance, World Championships marks for the women’s 100m of 11.33sec, men’s 400m 45.50, men’s 800m 1min 46.00sec, men’s 1500m 3:36.20, men’s high jump 2.28 metres and men’s pole vault 5.65 increase respectively at the Olympics to 11.32, 45.40, 1:45.80, 3:36.00, 2.29m and 5.70m.

Standards for some events, like the high jump, are higher for Rio 2016 than for this year's IAAF World Championships
Standards for some events, like the high jump, are higher for Rio 2016 than for this year's IAAF World Championships ©Getty Images

This new unified qualification system was announced at the IAAF Council meeting in Monaco in November.

It is likely to improve the overall quality of the event, but may result in some countries struggling to field a wide range of competitors.

The old system allowed countries whose athletes failed to fill any of their three allotted places through gaining a higher mark to select a single athlete on the strength of a B qualifying standard.

According to the IAAF, the unified entry standards - broadly speaking, a little below old A category but above B category - will combine with invitations which will effectively tighten up overall qualification standards, allowing them to standardise entries, which will in turn help organisers to anticipate the required provision of facilities such as hotel rooms and transport.

Athletics action at Rio 2016 is due to take place from Friday August 12 to Sunday August 21.

The timetable and entry standards for the IAAF World Indoor Championships to be held in Portland, United States, from March 18 until 20, 2016, have also been decided.

The 2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar was also approved, opening with the Doha meeting on May 7 and ending with the finals in Zurich and Brussels on September 2 and 10 respectively.

The full entry standards can be read at 

IAAF Rio 2016 standards.pdf


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