Just months ago, Lauren Roy was doing everything an athlete is supposed to do. The 25-year-old sprinter was thriving at university in Texas, had represented Ireland at the 2026 World Indoor Championships, and even her season-best time of 22.83 seconds in the 200 m would have been good enough for 4th place at the last Commonwealth Games, making her a strong contender for Glasgow 2026. But when the Games begin in July, Roy will not be on the starting line. No, injury is not the reason. Instead, a selection rule linked to the NCAA schedule brought her Commonwealth Games dream to an end.

Lauren Roy has been left off Team NI’s athletics squad after failing to meet a requirement in Athletics Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth Games selection policy. Under the policy, athletes hoping to be considered for Glasgow 2026 were required to compete at either the 2025 or 2026 Northern Ireland and Ulster Senior Championships. However, Roy couldn’t because the circumstances were beyond her control.

Speaking to BBC Sport NI on X on July 1, he said, “This is something that I have been working for for years. I’m at the peak of my career essentially between now and the next three, four years…. I’m really, really disappointed that I can’t go and put on a show for Northern Ireland.”

The issue traces back to when the policy was published in June 2025. At that time, the dates for the 2026 Northern Ireland and Ulster Championships had not been announced. When those dates were eventually confirmed earlier this year, they landed on the same weekend as the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.

Roy is currently pursuing her master’s degree at Tarleton State University on an athletics scholarship and had to make what seemed like an impossible choice. She could enter the NCAA Championships, where she would represent her university, or she could fly home to meet the eligibility requirement of Athletics NI.

So, she chose to remain with her college team. That decision ultimately cost her a place at the Commonwealth Games. Speaking to the BBC, Roy said she felt her decision to train and compete in the United States had been used against her. “I’m absolutely blessed to be here,” Roy said. “But it’s almost like I’m being punished for performing well over here by not being able to compete for my country as one of the fastest people.”

Even though Roy sought an exemption from Athletics NI, arguing that she was competing at an elite international level and that similar exemptions exist in other selection policies. However, her request was rejected. She said officials maintained that “the policy is the policy.” That decision carried consequences beyond athletics.

Roy explained that her scholarship and university funding required her to compete for Tarleton State whenever she qualified. Missing the NCAA Championships could have jeopardized her financial support and affected her ability to complete her master’s degree. She also estimated that travelling back to Northern Ireland for the championships and later returning for the Commonwealth Games could have cost around £5,000.

As an unsupported athlete, she said that the expense was difficult to justify. Also, Roy considered filing a formal appeal but ultimately decided against it. She said the process would have cost £200. As she said, “I was not in a position to pay £200 to appeal something that they would perhaps turn around and tell me the same thing.”

For now, her next goals are the European Championships, the 2027 World Championships, and the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. Still, the disappointment remains. Interestingly, Lauren Roy isn’t the first person in track and field to not qualify for a big event due to selection policies

Jade Lally’s Olympic dream ended due to a stricter national rule

The same situation occurred before the 2024 Paris Olympics with British discus thrower Jade Lally. Britain’s leading women’s discus thrower, Lally, qualified for the Olympics via the World Athletics world ranking system – one of two qualification routes to Paris. If the event quota was not filled, athletes would either meet the automatic qualification standard or qualify via their world ranking.

Despite meeting World Athletics’ requirements, Lally was not selected by UK Athletics. The issue stemmed from UK Athletics’ stricter selection policy. While World Athletics accepted athletes through the ranking system, UK Athletics required athletes to meet an additional national performance standard before they could be nominated for Team GB.

Lally fell short of that mark. According to BBC Sport, she missed the British standard by just five centimeters, even though she was eligible for Olympic selection under World Athletics rules.

Lally later expressed her frustration in an interview with The Telegraph. “I’m proud to be British… but I’m ashamed to represent British Athletics,” she said. The disappointment ran so deep that she suggested the decision had pushed her toward retirement. “I have to retire because of British Athletics. If you are a British athlete and have already missed out on a championship, I would 100 percent encourage anybody to switch to another country if that is an option. I feel like I have wasted a career trying to prove a federation wrong,” Lally added.

In the same way as Roy’s omission, Lally’s was not due to injury or lack of skill. Instead, it was yet another case of an athlete being disqualified from a big event due to the more stringent national selection procedure.