An Update On The Confusion / Controversy Surrounding The 2020 Olympic Selection System

LRC One Week Later: How Will USATF Select The 2020 Olympic Team? No One Really Seems To Know We have a little good news to report. Amid confusion, USA Track and Field is refusing to confirm the statement they gave us last week that put US distance fans into a tizzy. And USATF tells us they are appealing to the IAAF to give the top 5 at the US Olympic Marathon Trials the marathon standard.
*MB: A Little Good News: USATF is appealing to get top 5 at US Olympic Marathon Trials the standard.

Our Weekly Recap

LRCWTW: USATF Defies The IAAF And Ruins The Olympic Trials, Fast Halves And The Perfect Solution To The DL 5,000 Situation What a ridiculous week for US distance fans. We pick ourselves off the mat and offer common sense solutions to keep the crown jewel of US track and field – the Olympic Trials – exciting and to save the Diamond League 5,000. Along the way we wonder if Brigid Kosgei is now the favorite for next month’s London Marathon.

It’s Unfortunate The Only Women Comfortable Enough To Speak Up On This Issue Are Retired

• Paula Radcliffe, Kelly Holmes And Former Olympic Swimmer Sharron Davies Asking IOC To Research “Residual Benefits” Of Being A Transgender Athlete Right now a transgender athlete who keeps their testosterone below a certain level for a year can compete in women’s Olympic sports, but there are a lot of benefits biological males have besides testosterone.
• Two University Of Montreal Professors Call Testosterone Rules For Female Athletes “Unscientific” One of them accused the IAAF of “policing women’s bodies” and said, “We don’t need to be protected from women just as men in sport aren’t protected from other men.” We assume she doesn’t count anti-doping rules which protect men and women. *BBC Article

Corruption / Doping News

• France Seeking The Arrest OF Two Russian Former Track Officials French judges have issued arrest warrants for former Russian Athletics Federation president Valentin Balakhnichev and former head distance coach Alexei Melnikov as part of investigation of doping cover-up scandal. *BBC Article
  *InsideTheGames: It’s Unlikely French Authorities Will Ever Actually Arrest Balakhnichev Or Melnikov Like Papa Massata Diack, these two are unlikely to ever travel somewhere where France has jurisdiction to arrest them.
• Never Too Early For An Olympic Scandal: Japan Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda Resigns Following Bribery Allegations He is also leaving his role as an IOC member over the allegations he authorized bribes used to secure Tokyo’s successful bid for the 2020 Games. Payments made have been linked to Papa Massata Diack. *2nd Article
• At Least 21 Athletes Suspected Of Blood Doping After Being Linked To German Doctor Arrested In A Doping Raid Last Month The athletes and sports haven’t been named.

Unbelievably Stupid

Absolutely StunningLRC Our Worst Fears Realized: USATF WILL NOT Honor Top-Three Finish At The US Olympic Trials Unless You Have The Standard This is one of the darkest days in history for US distance fans. We emailed USATF to make sure they would be honoring the IAAF world rankings so those top 3 at the Olympic Trials could go to the Olympics – they told us they would not. That means Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo wouldn’t have made the 2016 team, nor would Jared Ward and five others, including Bernard Lagat, who won the most thrilling race at the Trials. Some US Olympic Trials races may now be totally meaningless.
*MB: Breaking: An Absolute Travesty! USATF WILL NOT honor top 3 finish at US Olympic Trials unless you have the standard!!!

Pushback Against The IAAF’s Recent Changes Is Growing

• Fantastic Read Sports Examiner: IAAF’s New Ranking System Is Biased Against US, Jamaican, Ethiopians And Kenyans – “Can we be surprised that the group who developed this process is from Europe, and not from the U.S. or Africa?” “It’s insulting to value the NCAA Championships sprints and hurdles events – some of the best in the world each year – the same as second and third-tier events like the Mediterranean Games or Pan-Arab Games. Are you kidding?“
• Recommended Read #2 Toni Reavis Thinks Distance Running Should Leave The IAAF “If ever there was a time for the sport of long-distance running to say adios to their governing body, now might be exactly the right time.”
• Capital Sports: The IAAF Is Out Of Control – They’ve Also Cancelled The 10,000 And 5,000 At World Juniors And The Meet Will Be Held In Kenya If you are from East Africa and think they hate you, we understand why you think that.

Non-Distance News

• 10% Of Olympic Gold Medalists Come From Countries That Don’t Even Have Anti-Doping Agencies “It is not a fair environment.”
• French Feminist Groups Asks For Hijab To Be Banned Fom Paris 2024, Nike-Sponsored American Fencer Fights Back: “I’ll be in my Nike pro hijab every damn day.” Never let a good opportunity to market go to waste.
• 19-Year-Old Christopher Taylor Runs 45.99 At Digicel Grand Prix Final
• Zharnel Hughes 10.20 (-1.3 m/s), Asafa Powell 10.35 (-1.1 m/s) Win 100m Heats At GC Foster Classic
• Carl Lewis Tells TMZ He Could Have Run The 40-Yard Dash In Under 4.0 Seconds Nope, Christian Coleman only did it in 4.12.
• Double Olympic Javelin Medallist Keshorn Walcot Says His Main Goal In 2019 Is “To Be Healthy” Keshorn, 25, won Olympic gold at 19 in 2012.