That 10.10s would have got him seventh in this year’s 100m final – one of the fastest finals in a long time – and would have at least medalled at every other Games in the last 22 years. The selection standard of 10.00s would have won gold at the previous five Games.
It meant Whelpton fell just short of representing his country because of the controversial system, a feeling many Kiwi athletes over the years know well – including women’s gold medallist Zoe Hobbs, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics but was denied selection because of the same policy.
Tiaan Whelpton has a personal best of 10.10s in the 100m. Photo / Getty Images
“Of course it hurts to not be there,” Whelpton told the Herald. “As an athlete, obviously my goal is to compete and to represent the country and to do my best. And I certainly believe I have the capability to have been competitive over there.
“I’m absolutely at the peak of my career, at least, I’m the best I’ve ever been right now. This is by far the best season I’ve had. I managed to go and compete at two World Championships.
“I’m not going to say because I ran these times this season I would have gone over there and won a medal or anything. But I certainly think I have the capability to be there. And I think if I was there, maybe I could inspire a few people too.”
Whelpton said the current system “disadvantages you if you’re in a deeper event”.
“I don’t think it’s a great policy to throw across all sports and events as a blanket policy, especially when there’s a complete lack of consideration for the depth of certain events.”
‘We lost a generational talent’
Another athlete who has spoken out about the selection criteria was fellow sprinter Eddie Osei-Nketia, who switched his allegiance to Australia because of frustrations with the New Zealand system.
Whelpton said Osei-Nketia, who finished sixth in this year’s 100m final for Australia with a time of 10.06s, also wouldn’t have qualified under New Zealand’s selection criteria.
“Funnily enough, me and Eddie have the exact same best time of 10.10s in the qualifying period,” Whelpton said in an email.
“Unfortunately, nothing has changed, despite Eddie having gone and left us. And we’ve lost that generational talent. And it doesn’t look like they’ve learned anything from that.”
Tiaan Whelpton (left) with Eddie Osei-Nketia at a track meet in Christchurch in 2021. Photo / Getty Images
Cape Town-born Whelpton admits he has considered potentially following suit and defecting away from New Zealand, but “it’s not something I’m going to do”.
“I’m very ambitious and keen on being the first New Zealander to run under the 10-second mark. So you won’t see me ever running in a singlet that’s not black on the world stage.
“I’m here to stay. This is home for me. My passport’s black. My singlet will be black.
“And not to say anything bad about Eddie. Having gone to Australia, I absolutely think that was probably the best and smartest move for him … as he is receiving way more support there, which evidently is working already.”
Whelpton said he isn’t trying to “moan” or “complain”, and remains grateful for the support and the work done by the sporting bodies, who “do a lot of things right”, but he believes the current system could be more equitable and nuanced.
“We do really well at a lot of these big Games. But I think there’s a case to say that we could be doing even better, which is a shame.
“And the one thing that really makes me sad is I’d hate to think how many athletes or how many potentially great athletes have been discouraged at some point by the way things are structured and gave up or quit, or in some cases, like we know, defect to other countries.”
Tiaan Whelpton (centre) during the 2026 Sir Graeme Douglas International in February. Photo / Photosport
Athletics New Zealand told the Herald in a statement “the nomination standards for all events are generated using the same formula and criteria”.
“The 100m, along with several other events, have world-class depth within the Commonwealth. The nomination standards reflect this level of performance.
“This year’s Commonwealth Games athletics team had five athletes making their senior debut at the international level. From a team size of 20, that means a quarter of the team are getting their first international representative opportunity at this level.”
‘I’ll still get it done’
Whelpton continued to be a strong supporter of his fellow athletes from afar, but he admits “it’s a tough watch from home”.
He was also recently dropped from High Performance Sport New Zealand’s funding programme because of falling short in another blanket selection criteria, which has meant he has had to self-fund as an athlete.
“I don’t think there’s many athletes ranked above me or athletes who are running quicker than me that aren’t doing it fulltime … and unfortunately that’s just what it takes to be great in the deepest sporting event in the world.”
He said he had hoped to compete in Europe this season, but it’s “way too expensive this year”.
“So we elected to come home, drop the season early and just get straight into training to build up for next year.”
Despite his recent setbacks, Whelpton is determined to keep his head down and do what he does best: run really fast.
“One thing I’ll never do is complain. I’ll still get it done.”