Mr. Obvious wrote:
No he hasn't.
Don't be obtuse. Of course he has.
We have a set way to "demonstrate sufficient fitness to be reasonably competitive in the race." You do that by running a qualifying time. Alan has not done that.
There is, in fact, more than one set way, one of which includes an appeal to someone at USATF to review his situation. Hopefully he will win.
Alan Webb Nike 13:49.70 accepted declared
Hassan Mead University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 13:33.42 provisional pending
Yosef Ghebray 13:34.34 provisional pending
looks like he has been accepted in the 5000
well, to point out the obvious, it wouldn't be a "petition" if he made the qualifying time, and this whole thread would be dead.
The heart of this thread is "Should USATF allow him in based on his petition..." with the unwritten understanding (by which the OP omitted) being "...due to his previous qualifying marks through his career, his current fitness level, and yes, marketability" since USATF is a company, just like Nike.
Now to the point of time being time, black and white, etc. etc., the "petition" rule wouldn't exist if USATF was as draconian as some may wish. Although there are merits to "you made it, or you didn't." Again, "you might make it, AND you're going to bring a ton of money in from sponsorships and advertising" is a valid reason, maybe not for the purists, but for those who wish to see the 5k on TV in its entirety, it may be something they're willing to accept.
wow, seems like this thread is useless now. With Webb being the 19th declared I can only hope the USATF has the decency to pull up 5 more provisional athletes to fill the field to 24 like they planned (*cough* Hassan, Girma, Trevor file your appeals *cough*, it's going by recognition as much as time *cough*)
Now that he as been accepted in the 5000m he needs to do the right thing and scratch from the 1500m so that the athletes that are on the bubble know the bubble has gotten a bit smaller.
Current status of entry for Webb in the 1500 is declared.
This debate is between those with the mindset of an official - who will followed every last boneheaded rule no matter what - and those with the mindset of a fan - who would break every rule as long as it's exciting.
Personally, I think the sport could do with a few less rigid officials and a few more passionate fans. Seeing Webb run the 5k is much more entertaining that successful enforcement of Section 17 Rule 7 dot 2 or whatever it is.
Got to love it wrote:
Now that he as been accepted in the 5000m he needs to do the right thing and scratch from the 1500m so that the athletes that are on the bubble know the bubble has gotten a bit smaller.
Current status of entry for Webb in the 1500 is declared.
Maybe he's planning on running both.
Hassan Mead and a couple of other guys will get in. If the field is supposed to be 24, why would they NOT get in?
Kind of a hullabaloo, considering Webb has zero percent chance of making the Olympic team. I'd bet your house on it.