A runoff would be the most dramatic thing for track and field. It's only 100 meters. And yes, if need be do it after the 200 meters. If both make that event, the sting will be less. Or if one makes it and the other doesn't than the one who makes it can withdraw from the 100 (fat chance!).
But a runoff would be like a sudden death playoff game. The sport could use some intense ancillary drama.
Swimming has swim-offs all the time. Part of the culture. Heck they have swim-offs just to get into the alternates spot.
To me this is possibly the story of the Trials, Eaton & exploding javelins not withstanding. Unprecedented. May never happen again, while I am sure I will see Decathalon record go down many times. Drama X 10! Nobody knows exactly how it will end. Intrigue! Nice job Wojo covering it all early on...
Any time you get mainstream sports talk radio discussing track and field, it's noteworthy.
15 min. ago on USATF site - Kersee quoted as saying "LET THE MANAGERS (aka Tarmoh's & Felix's agents) DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO" Could it be any clearer??? $$ will decide this in a backroom deal. No run-off, no coin toss, no frack'in way! Total bummer for fans & those non-fans who would have gotten sucked in if there was a run-off Sunday evening. UGH
Kidding aside. Let’s help out the USATF and USOC. Their latest plan still has flaws. The key is to go into the race knowing exactly what you have to do. The final race should be decisive.
Coin flip? You’ve got to be kidding! Heads, I go to London and make fame and big money. Tails, I should have played the lottery instead.
Re-race? Only good for drama – bad for athletes.
There should be a pre-existing tie-breaker. i.e. something prior to the race will break the tie.
Just brainstorming here – but here are my two options.
Option #1. Tie is broken by best overall average of times in the Olympic Trials races.
Option #2. Tie is broken by seasonal best time prior to entering the trials.
In both cases the athlete who has the inferior mark before entering the final race knows that she (he) must be in the top three outright. The athlete has fair warning that a tie for third may not be good enough.
I prefer option #2. Option #1 puts a priority on running fast in preliminary races. That goes against good judgment, which says only run fast enough to qualify.
kmaclam wrote:
15 min. ago on USATF site - Kersee quoted as saying "LET THE MANAGERS (aka Tarmoh's & Felix's agents) DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO" Could it be any clearer??? $$ will decide this in a backroom deal. No run-off, no coin toss, no frack'in way! Total bummer for fans & those non-fans who would have gotten sucked in if there was a run-off Sunday evening. UGH
If it were me in this situation, it'd probably take a minimum of half a million bucks to get me to consider walking away. This is Tarmoh's one shot at the Olympics, probably ever. No f*cking chance she walks away from this, she's been training for it her whole life.
If anything, there'd be pressure from Nike to do a runoff. It's great publicity for them. You're talking about a one-off event featuring only Nike athletes that a lot of people are going to watch, and it doesn't cost them a cent. Remind me why they'd try to stop it?
Ghola wrote:
You're talking about a one-off event featuring only Nike athletes that a lot of people are going to watch, and it doesn't cost them a cent. Remind me why they'd try to stop it?
Because they think that Felix is a more marketable athlete than the athlete who actually won.
Have you even been following this story?
Look at some of the other rules in track and field on how ties are broken...well field events go into detail more. I believe the best way is to follow the horizontal jumps for distance method. You just go to their next best performance. Example, you would go to their heat times. Tarmoh ran 11.16 vice Felix 11.19, thus Tarmoh is third. If they would have the same times in the heats( I guess they go down to 1000ths), then go to the time they used to qualify for the trials.In this case, Felix used a time of 10.92 and Tarmoh has a time of 11.13, thus Felix would be third. I just believe that the coin flip is the most ridiculous thing I've heard of in a long time. I stated all day that I would rather see rock, paper, scissors(best of 3), as it would be more dramatic and at least the athletes are performing. Who is in charge of the coin flip? Another run-off...really. Why..wasn't there already the final? Why make them run again for something that can have an outcome determined in other ways. Now we have to wait for what...Felix to run the 200..is she in the 400 also? I think this has to be taken its toll on both athletes and I feel for them. Let's do something intelligent...no coinflip..no runoff...lets look at their last performance before the final.
Goucher Needles wrote:
They should both have their agents negotiate some incentives to do the run off. The could decide ahead of time who wins, but still run the race. NBC could turn this into a nice event from a financial standpoint.
Here's my prophecy: if Felix chooses to defer her spot to the other, less hot chick, (I can't even remember her name), then Felix will not win the 200 in London. This move would demonstrate that she's not a killer. If she chooses to do the run off, regardless the result, she wins the 200 in London.
i like that theory. you need a killer instinct to be a champion and that usually translates to every aspect of competition. that's why everyone thinks sprinters are arrogant. they are. because they need to be utterly confident in THEMSELVES to focus on something so intensely for 10 seconds. positive thinking.
No, no, no to all of your ideas. The drama of the one on one race to determine the spot is what this sport needs. If only one qualifies for the 200, that adds to the tension, if neither qualify for the 200 that would would make for an intensive amazing race.Brian Williams actually used the story as a teaser on NBC news but even he seemed surprised that it might be decided by a coin flip. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
northrunning@yahoo.com wrote:
Kidding aside. Let’s help out the USATF and USOC. Their latest plan still has flaws. The key is to go into the race knowing exactly what you have to do. The final race should be decisive.
Coin flip? You’ve got to be kidding! Heads, I go to London and make fame and big money. Tails, I should have played the lottery instead.
Re-race? Only good for drama – bad for athletes.
There should be a pre-existing tie-breaker. i.e. something prior to the race will break the tie.
Just brainstorming here – but here are my two options.
Option #1. Tie is broken by best overall average of times in the Olympic Trials races.
Option #2. Tie is broken by seasonal best time prior to entering the trials.
In both cases the athlete who has the inferior mark before entering the final race knows that she (he) must be in the top three outright. The athlete has fair warning that a tie for third may not be good enough.
I prefer option #2. Option #1 puts a priority on running fast in preliminary races. That goes against good judgment, which says only run fast enough to qualify.
Maybe Felix is realizing that the 100 isn't really her gig. Focusing on the 200 gives her a better chance of winning a gold, because she's not getting near the gold in the 100, and she never had a chance there in the first place.
My guess is that they just want to make sure that Felix gets the 200 spot. If we're really going to break down the marketing, Felix abdicating her spot would be quite marketable. The two athletes could go on the Today show together, blah blah blah. They'd both look like saints. It would be a great story. A 100 meter runoff is bad for everyone except for knobs like Colin Cowherd.
My feeling is that Nike, NBC, and USATF should take full advantage of maybe the best chance they'll have to popularize the sport short of a Bolt appearance.
Borrow that strip of mondo they have for the Manchester Street Races in UK. Set it up in Times Square.
Have both Allyson and Jeneba on the Today Show, the Olympics Show, and any other show they can get them on, then have the race on national TV right before the Olympics.
Hey coach d minus, that idea was proposed Saturday moments after we were informed of the tie. This thread is not meant to be about what should happen, but what will happen. C'mon guys, what's gonna happen here??? Serious predictions. I've made mine, now your turn......
YOU are the jogging loser that started a shit thread saying there will be no runoff. Tarmoh actually goes into the 200 with a better mark than she had going into the 100. She has a legitimate shot to make the team in the 200. I can't imagine not having a runoff, but it's going to depend on how they both feel after the 200.
Why isn't Felix going for 400m?
In case of a tie such as this... My suggestion would be make every race down the track count. Add up total time of each athlete in all of the heats; semi & finals. In the off chance that this happens again USATF could/would have a measure of competitive output. My 3 cents..
girl with biggest chest should be declared the winner by a nipple
How is this going to play out??? We've had 3 days to digest all that's taken place & been said. Forget for a moment what they should have, could have done. BUT HOW DOES THIS END? PREDICTIONS PLEASE
kmaclam wrote:
How is this going to play out??? We've had 3 days to digest all that's taken place & been said. Forget for a moment what they should have, could have done. BUT HOW DOES THIS END? PREDICTIONS PLEASE
I have it figured out exactly how it will play out:
1. People will bitch and moan about why they had a tie in the first place and that USATF is garbage for not having a way to settle it.
2. They will come to a conclusion about who gets the spot and the same people will bitch and moan about the decision and who gets to go.
3. Whoever goes will not medal and many someones will start multiple threads about it all over again, with two sides arguing about it in the many threads until a new "controversy" arises, like Rupp and Bumby decide to bury the hatchet , but neither has the necessary arm strength to pick up said hatchet.