Lauren Boden narrowly misses out on Tokyo Olympic Games selection by two places

Finishing 42^nd in the Games qualifying rankings, seven points separated Boden and the final entrant heading to Tokyo, Swiss athlete Yasmin Giger.

Sarah Carli will be the only Australian in the 400m hurdles after Boden and Sarah Klein - who finished with a ranking of 45^th - remained out of the top 40 heading to Tokyo.

Boden was ranked 37^th in the event 10 days before qualifications ended on June 29, before she dropped to 42^nd after other results in international meets added more points to their name.

The 13-time Australian champion said she badly wanted to make the team as she had had some of her best sessions over the last year. Despite missing out, the 31-year-old sent her congratulations to all the athletes chosen and told them to make the most of the opportunity.

"Unfortunately I have missed the quota by two places ... an incredibly disappointing outcome when I know that I (and my team around me) have worked so hard and come so close," Boden tweeted.

"In 2018 I was ready to retire but my 2019 season resulted in a significant PB (54.87) and really lit the fire for Tokyo 2020. With Covid and everything that came with it, the postponement of the Olympics was personally devastating.

"Winning my 13^th national 400H title this year was very special for me, as I knew it was most likely my last race at a domestic level. While I am certainly not making any announcements at this stage, I will be taking some time to process the emotional rollercoaster the last two months has been."

Five athletes with connections to the ACT have been selected in Australia's largest ever athletics team at an overseas Games, with 63 athletes announced on Saturday to head to Tokyo.

Indigenous Canberra athlete Angeline Blackburn will join ACT-born Annaliese Rubie-Renshaw in the 400m relay. Canberra-born Brett Robinson will also compete in the 5000m, alongside Georgie Griffith in the 1500m and Catriona Bisset - who began her athletics career in the ACT - in the 800m.

It will be Rio Olympian Rubie-Renshaw's second Games but she said her selection had not sunk in yet as it had been a long wait.

"Before Rio, I had the benefit of being selected early on, so it's been really different this time around. I'm doing my final preparation at home, and when the Games start we'll still be in Australia," she said.

"I haven't competed on an Australian team since 2018 due to a few injuries, so I'm most looking forward to walking into the stadium ... because after this time away, it will be really special to wear the green and gold again."

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