Breaking - Mens Olympic Steeple - 3rd Spot

What Jager does at this point has no bearing on Corrigan. Corrigan has to run the standard if he wants to go to the Olympics. As long as Corrigan runs sub 8:15 he's on the team, even if Jager shows up and runs 7:59.

No, I think the math is that if Corrigan wins this meet, he only needs 8:20 to hit the necessary world rank because of the bonus points. So if Jaeger shows up and wins, Corrigan gets less bonus points and would need a faster time. So if jaeger wants to play spoiler, he could. Obviously it doesn't matter if Corrigan hits the standard, but Jager could screw Corrigan out of the necessary rankings points if it comes down to that.

What could theoretically work out to matter is if Corrigan ran slower than 8:15 and somebody beats him (regardless of whether it’s Jager or somebody else). Then he’d get fewer points, which would probably kill his chances of getting in on world ranking, whereas with a win slower than 8:15 he has a better chance (albeit not a guarantee) of getting in on points.

It doesn't really matter. The U.S. is hopelessly weak in the steeplechase, with ZERO chance of a medal. And zero chance of even being in sight when the winner crosses the line.

Clearly,

the ranking uses prize money as a proxy for competition.

Since this prize money is last minute and will not attract bigger competition, it is fraud.

It matters to Corrigan. If he qualifies it will be international experience for a 22 YO who may continue to develop.

On a larger scale, it matters because of the concerns about the influence of money on the qualifying process.

They did it in the decathlon at the us trials.

Ah ok, I was thinking that the math worked out to where Corrigan still needed to run 8:15.XX even if he won. I don't think it would be worth Jager's time or effort to go to this meet just to displace Corrigan by one place. There's certainly no guarantee that Jager could beat him anyway, as we saw at the trials. Plus, it would make Jager look like a huge prick.

Not totally impossible. Zak Seddon has run an 8:20.xx this year, so would only need a couple of seconds...

Or Jager could get out in front and slow the race down…

$1250 is all it takes?

Agreed. You come up with this random point thing and it will lead to stupid things like this (meets getting reclassified). You can only combat stupid with stupid.

Make the standard even tougher to meet and the level of stupid will only increase. Example would be a meet organizer in a country making sure that his local athlete will not face competition (by not allowing any good runners in) so that he can win and get max points.

Stupid, stupid, stupid…

Except for the medals Jager has won and the 8:00 he ran with a fall, you mean?

Well, how do the diamond league meets get ranked so highly?

A great deal of money is poured into them, to get more runners.

First, awesome that Corrigan is doing this. It’s better than flying to Uzbekistan or whatever it is that Rojo found. (no bad on Rojo, I just mean this is a more realistic option).

Second, who cares if a little bit of prize money improves the chances slightly. It’s not gaming the system, it is just the system. This is an eager young athlete, sitting on the edge, and trying to find any way to make it in. That is added drama, and what we love about sport.

Finally, PLEASE have Jaeger enter this too. It would be awesome drama. And only helpful to Corrigan. If the torch is to be passed, let it be done properly. Frankly, I don’t think that Jaeger could beat him, but wouldn’t it be cool to see the race? There is no scenario in which this is dishonorable for Jager other than the ludicrous one somebody wrote above where he got in front and tried to slowed it down. That is never going to happen. The guy is a US distance running hero, and he would do everything he could to run fast. I understand the point that Jaeger’s ranking is high enough, and he doesn’t need this, but there is no problem with him really racing to be …not just a spoiler… but the person who tries to put in emphatic stamp on this final spot… Well, Corrigan would certainly respect that, and be honored that the old hero put it down just a race him. That’s a story almost as good as going to the Olympics —- Remember when Evan Jaeger showed up just to race me?

OK, I know I’m inventing dream scenarios. It was a fun way to kill 5 minutes.

Well, he could also make some money.

Is it really "screwing" Corrigan out of the points, in a competitive sport situation? Is it somehow classless to compete for a spot at the Olympics? No, it's not. I honestly hate the ranking system precisely for this reason. WA needs to go back to a time standard, make it reasonable instead of insane like it is now, and then we can go back to the old way of knowing who was and wasn't on the team as soon as the Trials results were official.

The system is flawed; if Corrigan finds a loophole, good for him!

So with current standings, he needs to run sub 8:18 and win to pass the lowest ranked guy at 36. That gives him at least 1247 points along with his 1186 and 1161 to get him up to 1198 average.

And then he could get bumped if more people get onto the list. But he also gets helped by dumb federations (like GBR) that deny their athletes spots at the Olympics if they haven't met a certain time despite being in on ranking.

Basically still has to run the standard with miniscule chances to get in on points if he just barely misses the standard, and the standings do not change.