Swedish middle-distance runner Yolanda Ngarambe took to social media to share some devastating news. The 2019 European Team Championships winner shared a screenshot that indicated she had “Qualified by World Rankings,” for the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, despite apparently meeting the requirements on paper, the Swedish Olympic Committee decided to bench her.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, this isn’t even the first time this has happened. “Scratch my name off the list. This will be my second time qualifying for the Olympics and my second time being denied selection by the Swedish Olympic Committee.” a heartbroken Ngarambe wrote in her post on X. It’s like a recurring nightmare haunting her Olympic dreams since before 2020.

“Ran the OLY standard for Tokyo, and qualified by ranking for Paris. Make it make sense,” added the frustrated former 3000m European champion. The middle-distance runner revealed more about her emotional state in her Instagram stories. She revised the first time she dealt with this, before the Tokyo Olympics. Ngarambe wrote about her disappointment in her 2021 post.

Yolanda Ngarambe wrote about not believing in herself until 2019. However, her mind changed, and she ran the Olympic standard to prove herself worthy of representing Sweden in the Olympics. Although she continued to believe in her abilities, she won’t be boarding the flight to the Paris Olympics either. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old isn’t the only athlete who has suffered this fate.

Ngarambe shared the story of fellow Swedish tracks and field star Maja Nilsson. Nilsson’s coach explained that the high jump specialist didn’t make the cut. Yannick Tregaro explained that the athlete may have technically failed the 1.93m jump, but the SOC saw “her level and know her potential.” Coach Tregaro expressed disappointment that the SOC didn’t show any “faith,” in Nilsson.

The high jumper can hit 1.95m, as she did in the Tokyo Olympics finals, and is still getting back to her best after nursing injuries, he added. It’s a similar story with Yolanda Ngarambe, and the track and field community felt outraged by the Swedish Committee’s decision.

Fans stand with Yolanda Ngarambe as athlete bids Paris Olympics’ dreams farewell

The tracks and field community didn’t pull any punches when expressing their harsh sentiments. “If other countries had been like Sweden, the Olympics could be organized in a couple of days. The SOK (Sveriges Lamps Kommitté) is just a joke,” a fan wrote. The fan is one of many that have scrutinized the SOK’s selection process. According to a University of Gothenburg report, athletes often take significant risks in their pursuit of making the Olympic team.

“Those selected can compete for a top 8 position or that they show the potential to medal at one of the next upcoming Olympics,” informs the 2022 report. This is one of the many vague rules of the SOK. A fellow Swedish athlete and competitive mountain biker had some words of encouragement. “Fight on. Been involved in the same thing myself twice at Winter Games. Unfortunately, SOK destroys more careers than it promotes. Let this be lighter fluid ahead,” wrote the cyclist.

Because of such rules, one fan named the American system as the more transparent. “This is why the American trials system is the most fair.” the fan commented. “It can be heartbreaking (bad luck, injuries, etc) but it’s the only way to earn it on the track (or field).” the fan added. The US Olympic Trials is a special contest that all athletes have to qualify for and win to reach the Olympics. However, the Christian Miller incident has shown that even the trial system isn’t beyond criticism.

“Oh that’s not fair, same rules as NZL. Our Oceania qualifier Isabella Brett qualified and was not even nominated by GymnasticsNZ to our NZOC due to the rules of having to prove top 16. So gutted for you,” commented another fan. 23-year-old Isabella Brett had her hopes up when she sat for an exclusive interview with Olympics.com after winning the 2024 Oceania Championships. Unfortunately, the devastated gymnast announced the Gymnastics New Zealand’s decision to not put her name forward on June 20th.

“I really hate the rankings…. you either qualify or you don’t how do so many athletes get left home? I’m so sorry,” commented one fan, frustrated with trying to decipher how committees make their decisions. While the courage from the track and field community is palpable, there is little possibility that the decision will be reversed. Unfortunately for Yolanda Ngarambe, she would be 36 by the time she gets another shot to qualify Olympics.