South Africa’s Lara Van Niekerk to Miss Olympics Due to Administrative Error

Photo Courtesy: Anton Geyser/SouthAfricanSportsImages

South Africa’s Lara Van Niekerk to Miss Olympics Due to Administrative Error

South Africa’s Lara Van Niekerk is due to miss the Paris Olympics due to an error in the registration of her times.

Van Niekerk announced the error this week on Instagram, saying that it occurred due to “circumstances beyond my control.” Reporting out of the country indicates that van Niekerk twice recorded Olympic A cuts at meets that were not properly registered by South African authorities as official qualifying meets. That includes the A cut of 1:06.74 achieved at the 2023 South African Championships.

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A post shared by Lara van Niekerk (@lara_vn_)

Van Niekerk wrote:

It breaks my heart to be missing out on the Paris Olympic Games as 2024 was the Olympics I have worked for since being a little girl. I qualified on 2 different occasions but due to circumstances beyond my control the times did not count. The Olympic dream is not over, it simply got delayed. Good luck to everyone competing, I wish I could be there in person but I will be watching and cheering from home. I will be back.

The A cut is 1:06.79. Van Niekerk went 1:07.16 at South African Trials in April, thinking she already had a valid A cut.

Van Niekerk swam as recently as last week’s Mare Nostrum stop in Barcelona, but a back injury has forced her out of action for what looks likely to be the remainder of the Olympic qualification period, which stretches through June 25.

Van Niekerk had a wonderful 2022, winning gold in the 50 and 100 breast at the Commonwealth Games, the latter over countrywoman and reigning Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker. She earned a bronze medal in the 50 breast at the World Championships in Budapest in 2022. She was Swimming World’s 2022 African Female Swimmer of the Year. The 21-year-old did not swim at the Tokyo Olympics.

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janet

1 day ago

so she made the cut but AUTHORITIES did not register her 2023 time. . and SHE got punished for it?

felix

1 day ago

Reply to janet

dont get why she cant race now and get a time…?

Monty

1 day ago

Reply to felix

Read the article, she has an injured back at the moment. And does suck to punish the swimmer for administrators errors, how about pushing them for what they did. She did her job..

Kanga1

1 day ago

Absolutely disgusting travesty! She puts up the times but the authorities fail in their administrative duty, therefore she is the one punished for no reason.
There should be some fail safe that she can be in the Team.