Fourteen athletes represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year and six have already beaten the Olympic qualifying standardsThe certainties at this stage are Nick Willis, who won a silver medal in the 1500m in Beijing in 2008, Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams, middle distance specialist Nikki Hamblin, long distance runner Kimberley Smith, decathlete Brent Newdick and javelin thrower Stuart Farquhar.
The qualifying standard for the men's 1500m is 3min 35.50sec and Willis has a best time of 3min 32.17sec.
Hamblin has bettered the qualifying mark in both the 800m and 1500m. The women's 800m standard is 2min and she has a best time of 1min 59.66sec. The 1500m qualifying mark is 4min 7sec and Hamblin has run 4min 5.93sec.
United States-based Kimberley Smith is concentrating on the marathon and has bettered the qualifying mark of 2hr 32min with her best time of 2hr 29min 28sec.
She has also bettered the qualifying mark in the 5000m and 10,000m.
Adams best shot put of 21.07m is almost 3m better than the qualifying mark of 18.35m.
Farquhar has a best javelin throw of 82.41m and the qualifying mark is 81.80m.
Newdick has a best decathlon score of 8091 points and the qualifying mark is 8050 points,New Zealand athletes won eight medals at the Commonwealth Games and the only medal-winning athlete who has yet to qualify is former Otago 100m hurdler Andrea Miller who won a bronze medal at Delhi.
Her best time is 13.10sec and the qualifying mark is 12.96sec.
Heptathlete Rebecca Wardell, who will be based in Dunedin from the end of next month, was heading for a medal at New Delhi when she broke a bone in her foot and had to pull out.
She has a best score of 5988 points and is only 62 points short of the qualifying standard of 6050 points.
A comparison between the standards for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the London Olympics in 2012 shows only a slight increase in the last 12 years.
The men's 100m was 10.25sec in 2000 and has been set at 10.21sec for London. The men's 1500m was 3min 36.80sec for Sydney and is 3min 35.50sec for London.
The men's marathon was 2hr 13min for Sydney and is 2hr 12min for London.
The women's shot put was 18.30m for Sydney and is 18.35m for London.
Three Otago athletes have an outside chance of qualifying for London. Daniel O'Shea, who is in Europe with the New Zealand Development team, has a best 400m hurdles time of 51.62sec and the qualifying mark is 49.50sec,Andrew Moore has a 400m time of 46.88sec and the qualifying mark is 45.55sec.
Cory Innes, who was injured last summer, has a best 400m time of 46.57sec.
The task is a bit too steep for Rebekah Greene who has a best 1500m time of 4min 18.90sec. The qualifying mark is 4min 07sec.
She should be ready for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
The qualifying period for the 10,000m, marathon, race walking, heptathlon and decathlon is from January 1 this year to July 8, 2012.
The relays are from January 1 this year to July 2, 2012 and all other events from May 1 this year to July 8, 2012.
