So why exactly did the IAAF let cross worlds be held at such a crappy location? Certainly there must have been several other alternative countries that I'm sure would have been willing to serve as a host and aren't nearly as poor as Kenya. I wonder what the hotels are like in and around Mombassa and how athletes will be dealing with water/food.
The only way I would be going their is under Military guard, from Special Forces. Kenya has a huge history of anti-Western terrorism, and is right next to Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea (sp?). Plus the living conditions could literally kill somebody.
The World Cross was in Morocco in 1998;
http://www2.iaaf.org/WXC98/results/data/M/XS/RF.html
Bob Kennedy went, so did Goucher
on the women's side:
Paula Radcliffe, Deena K
http://www2.iaaf.org/WXC98/results/data/W/XS/RF.html
Marc Davis in short course:
http://www2.iaaf.org/WXC98/results/data/M/XC/RF.html
more results:
http://www2.iaaf.org/WXC98/results/data/M/XC/RF.html
1996 it was in S. Africa (Yes i know morocco and S. Africa are more developed than Kenya)
http://mypage.bluewin.ch/tomtytom/wxc_iaaf.html
an Olympic year. No Kennedy or Williams but Geb and Tergat were both there. They seemed to do fine on the track.
I can see how guys don't go (they don't go most years) but Rit'z specialty is XC and its his best bet to place well internationally. Granted this year would be way harder than anything recently. The 9 Best Kenyans, the 9 Best Ethiopians in 1 race. Much harder than with the split races. The Olympics are these guys best chance because there are 3 kenyans and 3 ethiopians. But the Olympics are on the track and these guys don't have a chance on the track.
I'm not certain on this but I'm pretty sure the prize money for the road champs is self funded and doesn't come from USATF.
gebremariam of ethiopia announced a couple of days ago after winning a very hilly 10k at 7000 feet in 2939, but he did not say if he would run the 8k with ritz or the jacksonville 15k with hall.
why no XC wrote:
On the other hand, why in the heck does USATF schedule the US 8k championships one week from the World Cross?
USATF doesn't schedule it - NYRR does (oh, and I know they're the Eveil Empire to some around here), they just put in the bid (admittedly basically uncontested) and USATF simply awards the championship designation.
The thought when the NY 8K was originally conceived was that guys would stop off in NYC on their way back from World Cross, and basically this worked pretty well.
wejo wrote:
I'm not certain on this but I'm pretty sure the prize money for the road champs is self funded and doesn't come from USATF.
That's correct. As part of the bid process any event wishing to be designated a USATF championhsip has to come up w/ the prize $ itself. That's why there is a variation between the various events, and why, i.e. the purse is greater for 8K than 20K.
Ritz would have received $3000 if he was the first American at worlds.
The prize money at Boulder gave Bonuses to the first Amreicans at Worlds.
Place Men Women
1st $3,000 $3,300
2nd $2,000 $2,200
3rd $1,000 $1,300
4th $900 $1,000
5th $800 $850
6th $600 $850
7th $400
8th $400
9th $400
Prize money at NY 8k ($25k for US 8k record)
(does not include appearance fees)
Place Amount
1st $10,000
2nd $7,000
3rd $5,000
4th $3,500
5th $2,500
6th $1,500
7th $1,250
8th $900
9th $800
10th $700
11th $600
12th $500
13th $400
14th $200
15th $150
yes but if he would have won world cross country he would get i believe 30k plus 3k for being the top america, but that would not matter they would probably make a movie of him, and endorsements would pour in, add appearance fee demand at future races equals probably several millions for victory at world cross versus a max of 50k for the 8k if he wins in american record time.
???? What's your definition of a crappy location?
Countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia have as much right to hold the World Champs as any other developed nation.
Rather than jump on the bandwagon as the guys who pulled out have their reasons for doing so, of which I have no right to comment. Instead let me sugest that there can be no higher honnor for an athlete than representing his/her country in a major championship event.
Those athletes( and you can add Craig Mottram, Benita Johnson, Jon Brown and Kim Smith to the list of athletes who won't be attending) who have withdrawn have now missed out on a lifetime opportunity to travel to a far flung destination, courtesy of their national athletic body.
Anyway congratulations to all the guys who've been selected by their respective federations and have not pulled out, I hope that they all perform well and have a great trip.
Memo to Gouch, Ritz, Culpepper, Torres:
For San Diego in 2008... just stay home if you're afraid run against the Kenyans and represent the United States.
As others have suggested...Prize money should only be awarded upon accepting a world berth and passing on a world team should mean automatic exclusion from the next.
he;s thinking long term now. not short-term.
Why the hell go to a third world country to hopefuly race your absolute best and still only get a 19th place finish? Why not, race a road race in the states, get some speed, confidence, and continue to prep for Novemeber when everyone will be hoping to have their A game in the marathon.
The ultimate goal to legitimize the USA distance running should be at the Olympics. I beleive Ritz, Culp, Goucher, Torres, Abdi, Meb, Sell, HAnson's, ect. ALL have this in mind. A strong marathon in November so that they can have the opportunity to represent the USA WELL against the world in the 2008 Oly marathon.
Be realistic. USA XC is not there yet, but USA marathoners are much closer and with SMART prep may win medals in 2008.
you people severely overestimate the impact world cross has on the layperson. you ask the average american on the street if they know when or where it is, and i guarantee you most won't know. and if we did win, it would be about as important as the US winning the 4-continent figure skating champs this weekend. Look at Deena - she was ranked #1 in the marathon last year, won London, and ran one of the fastest time of all time (including the fastest time of the year), is she some cult figure now? No.
Pathetic.
So its advertised as THE running event in the US, with the winner being proclaimed the best distance runner in the country...and then they all bail on running in Mombasa.
Talk about letting the country down. Its disgusting and everyone should be appalled at their behaviors. Culpepper even had the audacity to question holding the event in Kenya.
They should all be made to sign on paper that they will represent the US at Worlds or they should stay the F*&^ out of the trials.
What a joke.
Hey, don't fault our guys too much. Bekele isn't running World XC either. Maybe the real reason he doesn't want to run it, is because it's in Kenya? Of course, if he isn't in it. The pace very well could be much slower & it would be the perfect opportunity for an American to place well.
I think its also significant that Mottram isn't going to worlds either. I get this feeling that its not the dodging of competition but for most of the world, an inconvenience in travel, medical (immunizations). THat being said, I think they should all go. Its not some surprise that its in Kenya.
Everytime one of you me-me-me-only whiners sings us the same sad song about how "let down" you feel because Alan Culpepper didn't plan his racing year to suit your delicate sense of national pride, I get a big smile on my face.
I don't blame people for the negative reaction. But I hope we don't call the guys who do go a watered down team. Remember that in last year's 12K race, Patrick Gildea, Brandon Leslie and Max King finished 51st, 55th and 57th and only 16, 29 and 34 seconds behind Ryan Hall. They all placed higher than Ritz and our other big name runners from the year before.
I'm thinking that a lot of runners are either compelled or strongly incentivized by their sponsor deals to run the USATF XC championship.
As pro basketball player Alonzo Mourning once famously said of his team at the time, "I don't work for the Charlotte Hornets, I work for Nike."