Letsrun staff thinks xc should replace the 10,000m in the Olympics. Are they mentally challenged?

The IAAF is phasing out WXC because nobody gives a shit. There was almost nobody willing to host it this time, and Poland took it more or less as a favor to the IAAF. With the course/snow issues, I wonder if this one is the end of the line.

I believe there are NO 10000s on the track in the Diamond League, including Brussels. The European RDs are obviously phasing it out because nobody gives a shit.

Holdovers from a another time that are going away. These days, people who watch track want to see people who are actually fast or strong.

Get rid of both of them (5000 is next).

coach d you bring up some idiotic points. It sounds like you are suggesting that you would like distance running to be entirely eliminated. Without the 5000, 10000 or XC there is not much left.

I think with the recognition that Mo Farah has gotten in the 5000 and 10000 that they are only going to grow. American kids are going to want to be like Rupp and British kids are going to want to be like Farah. This brings a lot of attention to the 5k-10k from countries with a lot of money.

If you hold WXC on the LaVern Gibson course, Mo Farah will win every time. As people have mentioned, hard courses really mess with your rhythm and open up the podium to real grinders. Its an event for slow twitch steeple guys.

12km Long Course XC is a different event when hosted on a challenging course. If you go back through all the previous WXC results, you'll find lots of guys with relatively "bad" track credentials finishing in the top 10. And the credentials that the guys do have, typically skew towards the longer distances like HM and Marathon.

Canova>God wrote:

Without the 5000, 10000 or XC there is not much left.

That is the marathon's fault. Marathons have crowded out 5k and 10k road races from big-time status. 5k and 10k belong on the roads.

If all big distance races were on the roads, they'd show the whole thing on tv. No javelin or long jump.

XC at Olympics is the way to go. Scrap the 10,000 at the Olympics (you can keep it at the world champs). Also hold a world XC champ every 4 years 2010, 2014... Which shall serve as the qualifiers for the Olympics (top 16 nations at world XC champs qualify for the next Olympic XC).

That way, all nations will surely participate at world XC champs... And that would be a crazy competitive race (like it was 20 years ago).

Make the course challenging... (not just a track race in the field)

I think a 10K XC should replace the 10K in the Olympics, but only if they do it a track.

Maybe someone already mentioned this, but if not, there used to be cross country races in the summer Olympics, including team medals. That is part of the reason Paavo Nurmi won all those gold medals in the 1920s.

Cross country races should not be in the winter Olympics because the winter Olympics should not exist at all. They are a complete farce. In fact, every event decided primarily by judges scoring--gymnastics, diving, figure skating--should be out of the Olympics. These are exhibitions. All team sports--like basketball and volleyball--should likewise be out. I increasingly think the Olympics themselves should stop. They do not even remotely serve their initial purpose (and never have) and they are too big and too expensive. All of these sports now have world championships, which many did not have 60-70 years ago. I would much rather go (as a spectator) to the world track championship meet than the Olympic games.

The 10,000 is a great race on the track. It is a great race to run and to watch.

I think they should bring back those 6 day indoor distance races.

g_d

I love the 10,000 meters on the track. There is no way the event should be removed from the Olympic Games.

In 1965, when Ron Clarke first broke 28:00, he had to beg the meet director to stage a 10K. And what a show he put on. I think he had to promise to run a 3K the next day.

I came in as an Olympic fan in '72, and the 10,000 was insane. Dave Bedford took off at a suicide pace. Viren fell and got up. Gammoudi fell and tried to return to the race but dropped. Frank Shorter stuck to the pack gamely, was rewarded with a fine AR but fell short of a medal.

Viren, Yifter and Puttemans break away for medals. Puttemans puts on a heroic burst on the last lap but nothing can stop Viren's chugging praying mantis long legs from sprinting to gold and a WR. It was the Olympics at it's best.

Last summer, seeing Rupp break through for silver was my favorite live Olympic moment ever. It's a REALLY BAD IDEA to drop this classic race from the Olympics!

True distance fans dig this race. I was one of the thousands screaming their heads off in Eugene in April '82 when Al Salazar and Henry Rono threw it down for 25 laps. One of the most electrifying races I've ever seen. The place went beserk.

Deadman Running wrote:

Yes they are "mentally challenged" (not retarded) - XC should be run in the Winter Olympics and not replace a Summer Olympics track event. Makes perfect sense - you could have Olympic caliber 5-10K track athletes run cross country in the 2 years between Summer Olympic Games.

^^ What this guy said

Disc Golf has a better chance at being an Olympic Sport than XC has...

'Tactics a factor? Mo didn't have to do anything. Sit in the pack, do zero work and then outkick everyone. There weren't really any tactics to the race.'

Well there were some tactics by Mo he went from before the bell if he had left it to the last 200m he may well have been beaten. His opposition showed a lack of tactics as the way to beat him was to make a mid race break or get in front of him at the bell

Anyone saying get rid of the 10,000m may as well say get rid of all long distance running. The 100m would be very boring if they didn't show endless slow mo replays. A lot of race you hardly know whose won until they repllay it. Part of the reason it gets viewing is it gets some much hype over other events

What I really don't understand is why they cut the 10k but show show so many marathons. Now that really is boring to watch. They also show a lot of road races and they are more boring than track races

Move xc to winter Olympics - maybe as long as the courses are tough enough

Canova>God wrote:

The 10,000 is the greatest event on the track. It should never be taken out. .

Better then the mile? Seriously, I'd like to XC replace the 10k.

WXC should be 20k.

I'd love to see x-country in the winter olympics - one race with medals for teams and individuals. The main reason to have it in the winter is that you will bring in a lot of countries who currently don't compete in the Winter Olympics at all - I don't consider the Winter Olympics a global event if Africa is barely represented - x country would change that.

If not in the winter, I agree I'd replace the 10,000 with cross country - the 10,000 seems to test the same abilities as the 5000 too much. Of course it would be awesome to have a DMR as well.

rojo is indeed correct (note that name calling does not suffice for reasoned analysis).

The sport has been declining for years, especially in a television driven world where people have short attention spans. Ok, track fans can feel superior to others because they like watching a 10K, but most don't. The 5k would suffice to demonstrate distance prowess.

Track and field needs to have fewer events (again, like it or not) to promote its curb appeal. The 10k is one of the first candidates to go, as is the triple jump, 400M hurdles, 3000M steeple (plasticized cross country) and so on.

Add cross country to the summer games (I don't think the IOC is going to buy that you MUST run on snow or ice, so it will never be in the winter games), but only give team medals. That way, it's clearly distinct from the other distance running events. The best guys from 5k, 10k and marathon might double, but you'd get more people from each country participating. Heck, maybe even run it as a relay on a short (3k?) loop. That would make it more spectator-friendly, since the general public would be totally confused by XC scoring.

It cannot be in the Winter Olympics because all winter events require the need for snow or ice to have the event.

You don't need snow or ice for XC. So that's that.

I agree with replacing the track 10,000 with a cross country running event in the summer Games.

Track doesn't start until the second week of the Olympics.

You could do the XC event early in the first week.

Anyone then could easily double back for the 1500, steeple, 5000 or even marathon when track gets started.

I think this would force more match-ups.

You'd get all types lining up in the XC race that normally wouldn't face each other.

And the track 5000 will get all of the top track distance people in one race for sure since there would be no 10,000.

Yes.

The 5000 and 10,000 are perhaps the two most redundant events in the entire Olympic games, and I include in that the 50 and 100 freestyle in swimming, as well as all of the track cycling and speed skating events where doubling and tripling are the norm,

The number of athletes jointly medalling in the 5/10 should

tell you all you need to know.

But then, I'd take out the 200, too.

100, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, marathon would represent all of the different types of runner very well.

The 5 and 10 are essentially the same fields. Don't believe me? Quick, tell me who will be running the 5 vs the 10 at WC trials, other than Lagat and Lomong (5 only), it's the same damn suspects in each. If theses events truly had very different requirements, there would be different fields and favourites the same way there are in the 4 vs 8 or 8 vs 15.

XC, though, as we've seen at worlds this weekend, can favour a different set of runners (and is also highly entertaining to both hardcore and casual fans).

By Olympic definition of competing on ice & snow, XC will never be a winter Olympic sport, just like basketball, even though it's competed in HS & college in the winter.

XC should be a summer Olympic sport for several reasons. First, the team aspect. Sprints at least have the relays. But middle and long distance running have no team aspect whatsoever. And teamwork seems to be an important ideal of the Olympic spirit.

Second, better viewership. The 10000 has to be the least TV worthy event of Olympic athletics. XC would seem to do better (albeit still not great) on TV since the team members could be tracked on the screen and the terrain is not as redundant as 25 laps on the track. And the race is more than just the top 3 and a bunch of also-rans. It's about the team, and someone finishing 30th can make a difference in a true race, not merely a time trial or sit-and-kick.

Third, the 5000 and 10000 are too similar. The best of one race can usually be the best in the other race. At least with XC, the team aspect makes it a whole other kind of competition.