"This one hurts the most..."- Emotional Phil Norman lashes out at UK Athletics Federation after Paris 2024 Olympic dream hits dead end

Phil Norman blamed the UK Athletics Federation for denying him a chance to compete at the UK Olympic trials. The 34-year-old athlete will thus miss out on an opportunity to complete in his second edition of the Olympics in Paris.

Norman was seeking a ticket in the men's 3000m Steeplechase for the Paris 2024 Olympics but narrowly missed out during the UK Athletics Championships on June 30, the final day for Olympic qualification.

Norman clocked 8:18.65 to cross the finish and was just 0.15 seconds shy of the required time for an athlete to be eligible for an invite to the trials. The qualifying time for the steeplechase at the Olympics was 8:15.00.

However, his time of 8:18.65 had him ranked among the top and was eligible to be invited for the trials, but UK Athletics policy does not invite athletes using the world rankings.

In a statement shared on his X, Phil Norman insisted that he worked around the clock to ensure attained the men’s 3000m steeplechase qualification time before the deadline elapsed. He noted that after that, he was guaranteed to compete at the Olympic trials but was denied the golden opportunity.

The 34-year-old explained that he fought hard to be included and also sought legal advice but his appeal was rejected and he had to make peace with the fact that he would not be making his appearance in Paris, France.

"I fought tooth and nail with the help of legal counsel and the UK Athletes Commission to appeal this decision but unfortunately my appeal was rejected due to 0.15s over 3000m," he penned.

"This season I was British Champion, ran the fastest time by a British athlete since 1992, and broke the championship record which had stood since 1990. I am now ranked 6th-fastest of all time on British rankings. In the eyes of UKA I am not good enough," he added.

Norman said that he would "fight" for steeplechase.

"For this reason, I will continue to fight for the sport, not for myself but for the future generations. I have a 2-yr-old son and I cannot watch him endure what I have been through."

Norman also said that while he was proud of his career, he was disappointed with UK Athletics.

"I am proud of my career, I am proud of our achievements, I am disappointed in our governing body. I ask you all to share this to raise awareness and protect our future athletes," the 34-year-old said.

Phil Norman on being crowned national champion at UK Athletics Championships

Athletics - Olympics: Day 7

Phil Norman expressed his excitement to have been crowned the British Champion in the 3000m steeplechase at the UK Athletics Championships.

He clocked a national record time of 8:18.65 to cross the finish line first. Phil Norman was also disappointed after missing out on the Olympic standard but had his fingers crossed to be invited for the trials through his world ranking.

"British Champion, it’s amazing and this is going to be my last ever steeplechase probably and definitely my last ever championship, so to get the win, meet record and having a fast time is amazing," he told Athletics Weekly.

"It’s also gutting to miss out on the Olympic standard but I can hold my head up because I’ve left it all out there on the track. I’d have loved to go to Paris Olympics and I’m hoping I’ll be selected because I’ve got the world ranking."

Meanwhile, Phil Norman has been forced to go into early retirement as he will miss out on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

He previously competed at the Tokyo Olympics and was eliminated in the heats after clocking 8:46.57, finishing 13th.