It was a switch move questioned by many, but Solomon Islands Athletics Federation have finally spoken for the first time on their reasoning for it.
It was only 24 years ago when the “Eric the Eel” headlines hit the Olympic stage.
Equatorial Guinea’s swimmer Eric Moussambani qualified in the men’s 100m freestyle through a “wildcard” draw which is designed to encourage participation to developing countries who lack full training facilities.
Despite clocking in the slowest time of the whole event, Moussambani swam his heat unopposed as his two other opponents were disqualified due to false starts. The story was championed by many due to its heroic and uplifting antics.
Fast forward to 2024, a similar scenario has again come into play at this year’s Olympic games in Paris, with the Solomon Islands athletics squad now in the spotlight.
However unlike the Eric the Eel which received positive feedback, Solomon Islands case has been met with anger and confusion.
Sharon Firisua who specialises in the marathon, qualified through the wildcard process only this time as a 100 metre sprinter for Solomon Islands.
As expected, Sharon finished last in the heat with a time of 14.31sec, nearly three seconds behind the winner.
The decision to select Sharon for the 100 metre by the Solomon Islands Athletics Federation was met with anger by Solomons 100 and 200 metres sprinter Jovita Arunia who had dreamt of being in the Olympics.
“We’re the sprinters. I don’t know what went wrong, it’s unbelievable,”
Arunia threatened to quit athletics over the decision.
“I will not compete anymore because of what they did,” she said.
President of NOCSI (National Olympics Committee Solomon Islands) Martin Rara has spoken for the first time about the incident and emphasised that it was driven by “procedural necessities and not by arbitrary decisions”
He assured that all procedures were followed appropriately, and the decision was made in the best interest of the Solomon Islands’ representation at the Olympic Games.
“Sharon was not hand-picked; there is a process in place” Rara explained.
According to Rara, the Solomon Islands Athletics Federation initially nominated Sharon Firisua without specifying her events, leading to her name only being entered into the system in April.
He said that after the Oceania Athletics Championships held in Suva, Fiji, another submission for athletes Jovita Aruina was made, but it was beyond the entry dates for Paris 2024.
“The Athletics Federation of Solomon Islands then came back to NOCSI and reached out to the Oceania Athletics Association, but the response was to bring it up with the Paris 2024 Games Organizing Committee,” he said.
NOCSI sought further advice from World Athletics, which confirmed that the only athlete eligible to compete was Sharon Firisua due to her active status in the database without a tagged event.
“The only person active in the database to compete in Paris was Sharon because she did not have an event tagged to her name and therefore can compete in the 100 metres event,” Rara stated.
This decision was essential to retain the Solomon Islands’ universality slot for the Olympic Games LA 2028.
Rara explained, “Going to the Olympics even on a wildcard, there is a process; the only reason why Sharon ran the 100m is because there was no one else in the system.
“If there was anybody else entered into the system, we would have gone with another option, a middle-distance runner or sprinter”
“There was no option as Sharon Firisua was the only active athlete name in the system,” he said”
