Only track could have a dumb rule like this. Texas A&M loses 4 x 400 but gets credited with the WR

As I was watching the announcers try to explain the situation I was thinking, I wonder why track & field cant capture mainstream attention.

That and horrendous coverage. Trying to cram what should have been 6-8 hrs into 2 hrs of coverage really made it hard to get into, this coming from a former collegiate track athlete.

Raeven Rogers is wondering the exact same thing. Rogers has the official NCAA Outdoor 800 meter record @ 1:59.10. But she doesn't have the Pac-12 record because that belongs to Brigita Langerholc (USC) who ran 1:58.51. And Raeven doesn't even have the Oregon school record because that belongs to Claudette Groenendaal who ran 1:58.33.

If Raeven stayed for her senior season she would have broken both records.

Interesting. I wasn't aware. Can you explain the discrepancies?

Why can't the IAAF have 2 WR's for each relay? One for an actual WR and one for a WR with all runners from the same country? In this case both USC and Texas A&M would have it.

More info please wrote:

Interesting. I wasn't aware. Can you explain the discrepancies?

Technically there is no "NCAA Record" as the NCAA itself only keeps official records for the Championship meet. What is considered the defacto NCAA record is the Track and Field News Record list. To qualify for that, the athlete must have made the mark DURING the NCAA season. Raevyn Rogers 1:59.10 is the fastest collegiate time during the collegiate track season in history. Brigita's mark was done "out of season", after the NCAA Championship meet, as were the two marks at Oregon faster than Rogers time. As it was out of season, they technically aren't representing their schools, and the schools choose whether or not to accept those marks as records.

It is unique in college athletics because there are very few sports where you can compete out of the collegiate season while you are still in school. Track and Swimming, off the top of my head.

USA-born x4 for USA wrote:

So completely asinine. USC's foreigner, Rai Benjamin, was born in the Bronx and is a US citizen. A team with 4 US-BORN runners does not get a WR because ..... ????? WTF.

It's simple for the rest of us, bu tI will explain it explicitly for you. He has completed for a different nation in championship meets. Therefore in the mind of the governing body, he cannot represent America today. Soon he will be able to.

Do you want every African to be able to switch allegiance just before every championship meet and run for whomever is convenient? Every year? That would flood every championship meet with people competing like they do for Bahrain and the UAE now. Competing for YOUR nation is not a free-for-all.

Why do you care so much about a nullified-WR by four people you don't know and have never met and a rule that has existed for every relay WR for 100 years?

Track Duckz wrote:

Raeven Rogers is wondering the exact same thing. Rogers has the official NCAA Outdoor 800 meter record @ 1:59.10. But she doesn't have the Pac-12 record because that belongs to Brigita Langerholc (USC) who ran 1:58.51. And Raeven doesn't even have the Oregon school record because that belongs to Claudette Groenendaal who ran 1:58.33.

If Raeven stayed for her senior season she would have broken both records.

... and if me Auntie had bollocks she'd be me Uncle. So what?

jfkdsajlfejiwao wrote:

Why can't the IAAF have 2 WR's for each relay? One for an actual WR and one for a WR with all runners from the same country? In this case both USC and Texas A&M would have it.

This an even stupider solution for an already stupid solution. It will be so much better to have to hear the announcers explain they just broke the single nation WR which is still slower than the mixed nation WR set by......

Just make it a WR and list the runners and their nationalities and call it a day. The fact that we even have to think about this is ridiculous.

The Overexplainer wrote:

Why do you care so much about a nullified-WR by four people you don't know and have never met and a rule that has existed for every relay WR for 100 years?

The rule's been in existence since the late 60's-early 70's.

sprint fan wrote:

Only track could have a dumb rule like this.

Um, ever heard of the NFL?

Makes sense to me. Take it even further. Can you imagine a Jamaican relay world record made up of one Jamaican, an Iranian, a North Korean & an Australian? What an interview!

You have to draw the line somewhere.

The Fokus wrote:

The Overexplainer wrote:

Why do you care so much about a nullified-WR by four people you don't know and have never met and a rule that has existed for every relay WR for 100 years?

The rule's been in existence since the late 60's-early 70's.

How do you know if you can't tell us what year the rule was made?

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

jfkdsajlfejiwao wrote:

Why can't the IAAF have 2 WR's for each relay? One for an actual WR and one for a WR with all runners from the same country? In this case both USC and Texas A&M would have it.

This an even stupider solution for an already stupid solution. It will be so much better to have to hear the announcers explain they just broke the single nation WR which is still slower than the mixed nation WR set by......

Just make it a WR and list the runners and their nationalities and call it a day. The fact that we even have to think about this is ridiculous.

The fact that you think that just your opinion is the definitive word is described as ridiculous.

USA-born x4 for USA wrote:

So completely asinine. USC's foreigner, Rai Benjamin, was born in the Bronx and is a US citizen. A team with 4 US-BORN runners does not get a WR because ..... ????? WTF.

Coming across this old thread.

USC couldn’t get the world record that day because Rai Benjamin was the foreigner.

The same Rai Benjamin that just anchored the US team to a Gold medal in the Olympics.