Joshua Ralph claims the title as Australia’s most unlucky sportsperson

DESPITE qualifying for Rio, this Aussie athlete has tragically missed out on realising his Olympic dream by the smallest margin.

Joshua Ralph has narrowly missed out on selection for Rio.

FORMERLY Australia’s best 800m athlete, Josh Ralph can now claim the title as Australia’s unluckiest sportsperson.

The 24-year-old narrowly missed out on selection for the Australian Olympic team, despite having already raced past the qualifying time early this year.

Ralph was one of four Australians who qualified for Rio, but was overlooked to fill one of just three spaces on the team for the men’s 800m event.

Despite having won the Australian 800m title in 2014, which led him to a Commonwealth Games appearance the same year, Ralph suffered an unfortunate fall during at the Australian Athletics Championships in March. Already Rio-qualified prior to the race, a victory at the Championship event would have seen Ralph nominated for automatic selection into the Australian Olympic team.

Instead, Ralph’s tumble saw him cross the line in eighth place, with that honour instead being afforded to Luke Mathews.

The Sydney-born runner then had just four months to impress selectors at international events in an attempt to crack the top three. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Along with Mathews, Jeff Riseley and Peter Bol took the remaining plane tickets.

To make matters worse for Ralph, he actually beat former Beijing Olympian Riseley during an event in Finland late last month.

A gut-wrenching result for Ralph.

Sudanese-born Bol earned a late call up to the track and field team on Wednesday, along with US-based Patrick Tiernan.

The athletic team currently numbers 61 athletes — one shy of the 62-strong squad which competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games — and will increase if others on the cusp of selection get the nod from the sport’s governing body under the roll-down process designed to ensure full fields in all events.

The men’s 800m and 5000m were the most-contentious events for Australian selectors as more than the maximum three athletes had satisfied the qualifying criteria.

Bol, 22, is a former refugee who moved from Perth to Melbourne last year to link up with Rowe’s coach Justin Rinaldi.

The 21-year-old Tiernan — who attends Villanova University — edged out Collis Birmingham for the last available spot in the men’s 5000m after dominating their head-to-head battle last weekend in England.

Zoe Buckman, whose career highlight to date was a seventh-placed finish at the 2013 world championships, was included in the women’s 1500m after Melissa Duncan was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Australia will have at least one representative in each women’s track event at the Rio Games, with 18 athletes officially added on Wednesday to the squad.

Luke Mathews won automatic selection for the Games.

The only relay Australia will contest in Rio will be the women’s 4x400m, which includes teenager Jessica Thornton, the baby of the squad.

“I’ve dreamed of competing at the Olympic Games since I was five years old,” said Thornton, who also went within 0.13 of a second of snaring a start in the individual 400m.

“To be only 18 and to have achieved it is something that I will never forget.

“I was genuinely speechless when I was told I’d been selected, knowing that all my training and dedication to the sport has paid off.”

Thornton will contest the 400m and 4x400m relay at the world under-20 championships beginning next week in Poland before linking up with her Olympic teammates at the pre-Games camp in Florida.

In the injury absence of hurdling queen Sally Pearson, the Australian team will be captained by Jared Tallent, who will defend the 50km walk crown.

— with AAP

Originally published as Joshua Ralph claims the title as Australia’s most unlucky sportsperson