Breaking: Kenya Shelves 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials - Will Select Team Based on Marathon Results From 2015-2016

Smart move. The USA should follow. You only get so many bullets in your gun.

been there done that wrote:

Smart move. The USA should follow. You only get so many bullets in your gun.

No the US should not. A February trials is actually ideal for an August marathon. You just can't announce it this late.

One could argue that selecting a team is the best way to maximize medal chances but to be honest, most of the time the cream rises to the top. The only time you really want to have selected the team is when a superstar like say Sammy Wanjiru is injured before the trials. I mean can someone please tell me the last time a huge US star who was going to medal didn't make it??

But I just dont think it's worth it for so many reasons. 1) it becomes way too political. who would be our third pick this year?

2) The US isn't likely to sniff a medal. Therefore the drama of our trials > than the Olympics. The Trials are our olympics. Who cares if we might have had a better #3 that finishes 20th over a guy who ends up 25th. It's way more exciting to see the drama unfold at the Trials.

3) There also is a huge downside to not having a trials. You select people what based on a fall 2015 marathon? But you don't know who is injured in 2016. By selecting it based on a 2016 trials, at least you know you picked an in-form and healthy athlete.

I agree with everything you said except Olympic marathons are usually run in mid-70 temps and athletes differ significantly in their ability to run in warm weather. Running a Feb marathon in cool to ideal temps is different from August temps. Also, a month out from the Olympics, there should be some show-fitness clause to at the very least show that you can line up and finish the race.

at least you know you picked an in-form and healthy athlete.

Not true. 3 DNFs out of 6 runners in 2012 was not good...

Kenyans usually do pretty well at Boston - but apparently that is not going to be a part of the consideration? Well, it's technically a marathon within their time frame - but all of the major marathons get named specifically, even world championships, but not Boston.

I'm always amazed at how badly Athletics Kenya screws up their selections for the marathon team. Yes, it has to be difficult when 90% of the top marathoners in the world are from your country and you essentially have to guess who will be 'hot' that day. But they still manage to screw something up pretty badly, each Olympic cycle.

The best way to select a marathon team is to offer a million dollar bonus to anyone who wins a gold medal. That guarantees that the best prospects will breeze through whatever the selection process is, and then go win the gold.

All you need is a million dollars.

I'm a little unclear. Are they picking their teams, with higher weight being given to lower numbered marathons (ie, World Champs 2015 is #1)? If so, Mark Korir better be happy with his top Kenyan finish! 21st place ftmfw!

Seriously, though, selection is OK, IMO, as long as it's fairly based on who the top 3 in Kenya genuinely are. I think that any selection other than Kipsang and Kipchoge in the top 2 slots (probably Kipchoge #1) is disingenuous. There's more reasonable debate for #3, but Kimetto has to be given the benefit of the doubt.

With a guy like Eluid Kipchoge around, why insist he run a trials race? The great Kipchoge is the early pick for gold in Rio. You never know with the marathon, but he's the man to beat. Personally I'd love to see him cap off his brilliant career with a marathon Oly gold to bookend his brilliant gold in the 5000 from Paris worlds 2003.

As for the US, I agree that the Feb trials race is a good thing. And it's cool that there is decent $$$ up for grabs too. Runners get motivated, really pumped, and come out of the wood work for stuff like this.

August in Rio

http://www.holiday-weather.com/rio_de_janeiro/averages/august

Low Temperature 19°C 66°F

High Temperature 26°C 78°F

Kenya is the one country that NEEDS a trial race for the Olympic marathon because it has too many good candidates and a lot of corruption.

LetsRun.com wrote:

Athletics Kenya has come to its senses and announced that they won't be having an Olympic Marathon Trials after all.

We are pleased to break this development to you here:

http://www.letsrun.com/?p=93310

How is that "coming to their senses"? It went from an objective trials in February to a subjective, selection by committee, considering all races up to April 30, 2016.

What makes you think a subjective criteria is better than the objective one?

rojo wrote:

3) There also is a huge downside to not having a trials. You select people what based on a fall 2015 marathon? But you don't know who is injured in 2016. By selecting it based on a 2016 trials, at least you know you picked an in-form and healthy athlete.

The KAA criteria clearly says that all marathons up to the end of April are considered.