Petition in support of Lanni Marchant doubling in Rio picks up steam
An online petition has been started in support of Lanni Marchant's bid to compete in both the 10,000m and the marathon at the Rio Olympics.
An online petition has been started to convince Athletics Canada, the national governing body for the sport, to let Lanni Marchant run both the 10,000m and marathon at the Rio Olympics in August. The push comes after it was hinted by head coach Peter Eriksson that she would only be named to the 10,000m team.
“Please sign this petition urging the Athletics Canada board of directors to immediately reverse their decision keeping Lanni out of the marathon, so she can be prepared for this important competition,” reads the petition, which so far has 1,402 supporters as of June 25.
RELATED: Lanni Marchant not likely to be allowed to run marathon in 2016 Rio Olympics.
On Twitter, Athletics Canada reiterated that the team won’t be announced until July 11. The qualification window for the marathon team closed at the end of May and there are no qualifying trials for the marathon in Canada unlike most track and field events.
.@dupontkelsey the team has not been named yet. Nobody is on / off the team until the announcement July 11.
— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) June 24, 2016
After Canadian Running first broke the news, Eriksson noted on Twitter that “Lanni has not been told she can’t run.”
Lanni has not been told she can’t run the marathon, this is misleading information. All decisions will be made by the NTC after Trials
— Peter Eriksson (@Head1Coach) June 3, 2016
People are using the hashtag #LetLanniRun on social media to make public their support for the Canadian runner. Others have commented on the petition itself.
She’s the Canadian record holder in the marathon and one of the country’s fastest ever over 10,000m. One concern is that the two races take place within 48 hours of each other. The 10,000m is Aug. 12 at 11:10 a.m. and the marathon is Aug. 14, 9:30 a.m., a schedule she mimicked following the Canadian 10K championships.
Marchant, 32, has met all the criteria to run the two events. She and Krista DuChene are the only two Canadian women to have run the Athletics Canada qualifying standard in the marathon.
RELATED: Lanni Marchant mimics Rio double in workout and crushes it.
Marchant will have to wait until July 11 before knowing whether she will be contesting both races. Only then can she appeal Athletics Canada’s decision, if need be.
The petition will be delivered to the Athletics Canada board of directors and other members of the organization, according to the website. The petition was started by Janet Money.
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