Prague: Triple Olympic speedskating champion Martina Sablikova will travel to Rio for the cycling time trial without knowing whether she will be allowed to take part, her agent said on Friday.
The 29-year-old Czech celebrated qualification to Rio after the world cycling championships in Richmond, United States last year.
But the Czech Cycling Federation apparently overlooked a glitch in the rules — that time trial qualifiers must also qualify for the road race, which Sablikova has not.
Sablikova was not on the list of time trial qualifiers published by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in early June, which led to frantic legal and diplomatic action to secure a berth for her.
Those pleading with International Olympic Committee for Sablikova included Czech President Milos Zeman and seven-time Olympic gymnastics champion Vera Caslavska.
But the pleas have come to nothing up to now.
“Martina Sablikova has decided to travel... to Rio where she will train for the Olympic time trial and wait for a special panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport... which might allow her to race,” the Sport Invest agency said on Friday.
“We are glad she has decided to fight for her Olympic dream to the very end,” said her agent David Travnicek.
Sablikova, who won three Olympic gold medals at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 and who is the reigning world champion on 3,000 and 5,000 metres and in allround speedskating, said she would go to Rio to honour the work done in her favour.
“I can see how much work and effort has been exerted by so many people so that I can keep dreaming my Olympic dream,” Sablikova said in a statement.
“It wasn’t easy. The possibility of racing at the summer Olympics is of course a big challenge,” said the woman who has won the speedskating world cup on 3,000 and 5,000 metres every year since 2006.
“On the other hand, the uncertainty about my participation and the possibility of a speedy return home are a big scare,” she said in a statement.
Sablikova finished 12th in the time trial at Richmond and ninth in reduced rankings with only one rider from each country, meeting the UCI criteria granting berths to top 10 racers in the reduced rankings.
But the UCI reckons with “25 riders already entered in the Road Race event” for the Rio time trial scheduled for August 10.
