Not all the windows are closed; but snooze now and one may slam shut very abruptly

For the first time since 1 December, 2020, the day that the qualification window for the Tokyo 2020 re-opened, athletes are not currently trying to qualify for an Olympic Games or World Championships. The window for Paris closed on 30 June, and with next summer’s World Athletics Championships scheduled to start on 13 September 2025, as far as everyone is aware, there is to Road to [Global Championship] window open.

A brief respite from ranking points.

Or so you’d think.

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The European Indoor Championships will be held in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, for 6-9 March next year. The qualification window opened earlier this year. Some athletes – including Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, Ciara Mageean, Sarah Healy, Brian Fay and Sarah Lavin - have already qualified having surpassed the relevant entry standards this year. Others will qualify by achieving the entry standard outdoors later this season or indoors in early 2025. 

However, as both the World and European governing bodies for the sport are still determined that half the field come from rankings, a not-insignificant number of people will have a much more convoluted journey to the Dutch city.

Now is possibly the most important time for them to be competing.

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European Indoor Championships are often a target for athletes on the margins of international representation. The event has traditionally been an ideal first taste of competing at an international championship.

But things not near as straightforward as they used to be.

And getting there (or not) will teach an athlete some hard lessons on the flaws of the world ranking system.

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If you’re hoping to race the 3000m in Apeldoorn, and you don’t reach the automatic standard of 7:43 indoors (or 7:36 outdoors) for men or 8:48 (8:39) for women, then you better have run at least two decent outdoor 5000m races during the qualification period.

Qualification by ranking for championships, even indoors, is based on the World Rankings, which are designed for outdoor events. Indoor competitions can count, but are valued less. And their contribution is limited, depending on the event.

Qualification for 3000m indoors is based on 5000m rankings, so at least two of the three performances that count towards an athlete’s final ranking must be outdoor 5000m races. Multievent athletes who wish to qualify by ranking must have at least one score from an outdoor decathlon (men) or heptathlon (women). 

400m hurdlers who race 400m indoors (what else are they going to be doing over the winter?), must count at least three outdoor 400m races among their five scoring events; 60m sprinters and sprinter hurdlers will need at least three performances from the longer outdoor equivalent of their event.

For 400m, 800m and 1500m athletes who’ve been injured all this season, the task is near impossible: their score too will need to include three outdoor performances, no matter how often they race indoors in January and February 2025, how many World Indoor Tour events they win or how close they get to the standard (unless, of course, they surpass it).

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For once, field eventers aren’t being screwed. Because World Athletics no longer distinguishes between indoor and outdoor performances in throws and jumps, rankings for athletes in these events can include any combination of indoor and outdoor performances.

For the rest, it’s a minefield.

There is no sitting back and kicking in this game. If you’re not with the leaders now, someone who raced smarter will take your place.