Baldini: ‘Exclusion of Jacobs and Tamberi strange choice. Clarify the selection criteria ”

Olympic marathon champion in Athens 2004, two European gold medals. Then youth technical director and for the development of the athletics federation until 2018, Stefano Baldini was among the protagonists of the Athlete of the Year Gala. “At that time the invitation was enough to be included among the candidates, then everything that can create interest, like the Awards, has changed over the years”.

How do you see this exclusion of Jacobs and Tamberi from the list for the Athlete of the Year award?

“In the case of Gimbo it can also fit, as it can be whether it is 11th, 12th or 13th, if we look, even Barshim is not on the list. But that he is not the only one to win two men’s golds in Tokyo, who in the season won the European indoor gold and set two records … It sounds very strange, I would never have left the two Olympic champion out ”.

What value are prizes like this?

“I am from the party of who cares, the key thing is to have brought home the medals. But if we value these awards, it was still a striking choice and perhaps the time has come to understand how it works ”.

“I think it is the right time to make public what the selection criteria are. If it is linked to the presence of all the specialties, if it is a technical choice, if you look at events such as the Diamond League, if instead the world ranking is taken into consideration. In the ranking Jacobs is at no. 25, Tamberi at no. 31. Among the athletes on the list there are two behind them, Tentoglou (41) and Kipchoge (70). I do not dispute the performance of the 10 on the list, they are all phenomenal. The time has come to clarify how to decide, because these Awards are often tucked into sponsorship contracts to get bonuses ”.

In your opinion, does the weight of a country matter in World Athletics?

“I hope not. And I would like to add one thing: these episodes will be very, very important motivational fuel for our children and an extra stimulus ”.