Ross Proudfoot the latest in Pan Am selection controversy

Three Canadian athletes could potentially be left off the Pan Am Games team due to paperwork missteps
Ross Proudfoot of Speed River TFC is the latest athlete to get caught up in controversy regarding selection for the Pan Am Games.

Proudfoot was named by Athletics Canada as a member of the team to compete in the 5,000m track event next month in Toronto. He is joined by Cam Levins, who currently trains with the Nike Oregon Project and is coached by Alberto Salazar, a man who is dealing with some controversy of his own.

Proudfoot’s selection has come under scrutiny given that he had previously declared his intention to compete at the World University Championships (FISU), which also take place next month, in South Korea. According to the guidelines set by Athletics Canada, being chosen to the FISU team in lieu of the Pan Am Games should have deemed Proudfoot ineligible for selection.

Proudfoot was ranked fourth fastest at the 5,000m distance, but was selected when the two athletes ranked ahead of him opted to compete in other events. Matt Hughes, who held the fastest time for 5,000m (13:19.56), chose the 3,000m steeplechase, and Mohammed Ahmed, who ran 13:20.67 to rank second, opted for the 10,000m.

Several athletes have challenged his eligibility and Proudfoot is now waiting for Athletics Canada to make an official decision. If deemed ineligible, he plans to compete at the world university championships instead.

In addition to Proudfoot, two other Canadian athletes, Fawn Door and Fiona Benson, have also created some controversy after being overlooked by Athletics Canada due to problems submitting paperwork and not formally declaring that they wanted to represent Canada at the Pan Am Games. Both Dorr, a 400m hurdler, and Benson, an 800m runner, were deemed ineligible to compete at Pan Ams despite being ranked in the top two in their respective events. Dorr has been criticized for attempting to make Canadian squads even though she is a dual citizen and has spent much of her life living in the U.S. Benson started this year thinking she would not be fast enough to qualify for an international team. She has since become just one of five women in Canadian history to run under two minutes in the 800m.