2014 USA Indoor Championships

February 21, 2014 to February 23, 2014
Albuquerque, NM
The 2014 USATF Indoor (track and field) Championships will choose the team that represents the US at the 2014 IAAF World Indoors in Sopot, Poland. *Event Website Click for Photo Gallery
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LRC Andrew Bumbalough Reinstated; Rules Adopted To Ensure Rectification Of Errors In Future

Yes, children have been conceived and born in the time it took them, but USATF finally gave Bumbalough back his 8th place 3K finish. They also added a rule that now allows corrections to be made 72-hours after a race.

Runner's World:

No one from the working group ever thought to speak to the athlete who was erroneously DQd and USATF didn't bother to give him an update or an apology at any time during or after the process.

LRC USATF DQ Report Released: Did Alberto Salazar Have Undue Influence? We Still Don't Know

We wonder if it's normal for an official to tell a coach about a foul he admits he didn't see. Then we start to go off into la-la conspiracy land as we notice a key part of the report regarding Salazar shows up in a different font. To us, the whole report reads like a 5th grader's book report, not a report worthy analysis of a decision that (illegally) fixed the outcome of a national championship race.

Oregonlive:

"For some reason, USATF chose to stall. Maybe the leadership wanted emotions to cool, but I think it was a public relations disaster. It made the people running USATF look either distant and out of touch (best case) or calculating and inept (worst case)."

Runner's World:

The report says the "new conclusive evidence" was the same footage on a true monitor with zoom capabilities since the initial ruling was made with a "fuzzy" projection on a "bed sheet". Barker claims the rules were still violated as the committee allowed an additional appeal before the higher-quality video was even on the table.

USATF:

President  Stephanie Hightower: "What we have seen in this instance, as well as other competition-related controversies in recent years, is that our rules in some cases fail to address how to decide certain field-of-play issues, as well as who should decide them. The group’s recommendations will provide the blueprint for eliminating the shortcomings of our current rules and processes to decrease the chances of similar situations happening in the future.”

USATF:

The report doesn't take a side in whether there should have been DQs or not, but does finally acknowledge that the DQ of Andrew Bumbalough was a case of mistaken identityThe report also makes a number of suggestions for rule changes to help with the vague wording and make for a more clear process for the jury of appeals and for correcting mistakes later on. It even addresses the accusations of Nike's/Alberto Salazar's influence and calls for a more private setting for the jury of appeals to work.

LRC Irony Of Ironies: USATF's Reinstatement Of Gabriele Grunewald Was Another Example Of Itself Violating Its Own Rules And Making Them Up On The Spot

Sadly, the one consistent thing about USATF is that its rules are vague or simply ignored. Greg Harger of the Indiana Invaders points out how USATF ignored its own rules in overturning its Gabe Grunewald DQ.

LRC More Albuquerque Craziness: Sanctioned Doper Christian Hesch Volunteered As A Drug Testing Chaperone At USA Indoors Before Having Credential Revoked By USATF

We're not making this up. Hesch, a convicted doper, thought it was a good idea to volunteer at USA Indoors as a drug chaperone.

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