Jearl Miles-Clark Left Off 4 x 400 Relay

Olympic Trials Results:

1. Monique Hennagan 49.56 (participated in Olympic 4 x 400 final)

2. Sanya Richards 49.89 (participated in Olympic 4 x 400 final)

3. DeeDee Trotter 50.28 (participated in Olympic 4 x 400 final)

4. Crystal Cox 50.52 (ran a heat leg)

5. Monique Henderson 50.75 (participated in Olympic 4 x 400 final)

6. Moushaumi Robinson (ran a heat leg)

The participation of the first three runners makes sense.

I don't know why Monique Henderson got to run the final instead of Crystal Cox. However, Crystal is the Brooks coached athlete, not Monique. Therefore, it hardly seems like a case against Brooks that Monique got to run in the final.

As far as the Olympic heat is concerned, each of the participants finished in the top 6 at the trials, and nobody finished ahead of them. Also, it is nothing new to use trials 5th and 6th place finishers to run a heat, so that some of the finalists will be fresh.

If a runner who wasn't one of the top 6 trials finishers ended up being one of the 6 runners that ran, there would be reason for concern.

Should a non-participant get a spot instead of a trials participant? I guess it is a matter of who you ask. A participant and their family members would probably answer no, and you couldn't blame them for doing so. In fact, if Jearl was picked instead of a participant, one of her supporters might have started a thread to complain.

The main argument in Jearl's favor is her superior PR. I don't know if this settles the argument. Considering the results, probably not.

[quote]VillanovaGrad wrote:

No, OBN, a couple of the girls, including Crystal Cox who is coached by Brooks Johnson, and M. Robinson, who were named to the Athens relay pool, finished fifth and six at the US Olympic Trials... with PRs a LOT slower than Jearl's. Both girls ran slow in the prelims. I think it is their inclusion over Jearl that has really upset US track fans. While it is nice they got the chance, they did not get the opportunity based on merit, but rather politics. That's WRONG.

Many people seem to be upset,concerned and disppointed with the 4x400m relay selection. It appears this has been going on for years. We can not go to the convention, and vote so what do we do? SO all I can do is write Jearl a pesonal note to her website www.jearlmilesclark.com maybe some of you will do the same. Do you really think writing Craig and the other people will do any good? Just asking. You also know that money is involved how much could Jearl have gotten for being in the pool. Maybe Brooks put his girl in so he could get a percentage of her awards money to add to his stipend from USATF.

You make good points. It still is a case against Brooks and here is the reason why. Henderson split faster than Cox in the Prelims....So she gets to run the finals. BUT by running Cox in the perlims she gets a cut of the $80,000 first place prize money, and a gold medal. Therefore he helps his girl and he probably gets a cut too.. This is a slick dude. This is not an attack on the athletes, they have done nothing wrong. It is your boy I have issues with.

I think that there are several issues here that need to be addressed! Of course there is the issue of leaving JMC of the relay. The running of CC and MR was a political deal and is very easy to se through. There is a hidden agenda here and anyone who wants to recognise the truth can see that. No need to go into detail about JMC's carrer, as we all know what she has done for the sport. What we see here is what is wrong with track and field. We have taken a sport that was once pure and turned it into a political drug infested monster.

Let me start with a simply question. Why are Brooks and Orin head of the relay program. When was the last time either of these guys coached a relay that ran fast. To my knowledge Brooks has not had a sprinter run fast since Steve Williams back in the late 70's and Orin has had only a couple of sprinters in his entire carreer! But these are the guys we choose to run our relay camps and lead our country into the Olympics and world championships.

Lets examine this further, we are paying someone to run a relay program and establish a national protocal, and what we get for our 100,000 is a silver medal and a dropped baton. We pit the four fastest guys ever asembled for a realy on the track and we can't run faster than the collegite record (ugh). come on poeple lets wake up and smell the coffee! We don't need a national relay cordinator, we simply need to start naming people to the staff that can coach the relay. Every year people get named to these staffs who have never had any success coaching relays and then we expect them to lead our relays to gold medals and fast times. Sur H. knows nothing about coahing relays, she is a field event coach and should not have had any say in the relay selection process. it is simple for me, put people in charge who know what they are doing and things like what happened in Athens will not happen. There was no one envolved with the decisions over there who had any idea what they were doing or who didn't have a hidden agenda.

I SAY SCRAP THE REALY PROGRAM AND PUT THAT MONEY TOWARDS SUPPORTING YOUNG ATHLETES WHO ARE FIGHTING TO STAY IN THE SPORT. If these people are so fired up about a youth movement then support the youth and stop wasting money on a project that doesn't need to exsist. USATF needs to wake up and start doing whats right, which is taking care of the athletes! put people on these staffs who can coach and know what they are doing and stop including peope who have hidden agendas and have no back bone or morals.

JMC I applaud you as always. You are truly the first lady of track and field. You are above this organization and there antics. You will always be remembered for the true cahmpion that you are now and always will be. Thanks for the memories.

very, very well said. You have encouraged me to go to the convention and make changes....Help the youth, cut the relay programs, bring coaches in who have a history of knowing how to coach; then give the money to the youth who are trying to make it!!

You addressed many issues. Well said. I think you for profound statements.

USATF has been nothing more than a good ol' boy and girl network since it's inception. Since Masback, it has grown into this pyramid of ex-coaches and hasbeen administrators who have outlived their usefulness years ago.

I would guess that if not for track and field, Brooks Johnson couldn't get a job making jock straps. Who's back is he scratching these days anyway....relay coach, gimme a break please.

You know, guys, it's okay to engage your heads along with your hearts. Jearl Miles-Clark is a huge credit to track and field, a major talent, a hard worker, and so on. She also clearly did not deserve a spot on the relay team. Let me clarify that: Had she been included, the decision would have been justifiable, but by the same token the decision to leave her out of the pool is also justifiable. There is no reason to believe she is among the top six one-lappers in the U.S. this year, and after several 800's she would not have been at her best - whatever that is these days - for the 4 x 400. That so many people are blindly supporting her here is a credit to her accomplishments, her personality, and her reputation - but that's all it is.

You have it wrong. The Board hires Masback and decides the structure that allowed Brooks to name himself High Performance Chair/Director of Training Center**/Relay Coach. The staff - I know several - have no power in this scheme. Try working for Chaplin and Hightower and Johnson.

I realize this is overly defensive, but you have to see the issue - the kooks who are running the asylum rest outside the staff. Pick on Masback for marketing issues, but not teams stuff.

** The $100 grand is not for the relays, it is for "leading" the Training Center and determining the development/high perf scheme - the one that detemrines his pay. The relay gig was a slam dunk to get him to the Games and a lot of other meets on someone else's budget.

To explain it somewhat, Brooks was supposed to be the guy who could pull the different crews (egos/coaches/etc) together. HSI vs Trevor vs whoever.

Wow, getting a response from Joetta Clark, Joe Clark, and Jearl Miles Clark HERSELF is something. All I can say is that when I initially heard she was indeed left off for a 'new direction in youth' (paraphrased), I thought, "Uh, the woman is about to retire, but still competing, and still FAST.

Good ole bureaucracy.

Thank you Jearl Miles for an illustrious career.

Tony T wrote:

I can not believe you are still saying Jearl does not belong in the relay pool.If your are aware of the rules Jearl does belong in the relay pool based on the relay seclection process. Moreover her relay splits and her performances also indicated that as well. Please who ever you are look at the rules of the relay selection process before you continue to say Jearl does not deserve. What she does not deserve is to be replaced by a 51.9 split when she runs 55.5 for the first lap of an 800. Meaning after the first lap 400m at 55.5 she still continues to run for one more lap.

For the second time, I am well aware of the rules and that Ms. Miles-Clark was eligible for the pool. I disagree with the fact that a medal should have been bequeathed upon her.

ClarkGriffithJoynerKersee, Jr. wrote:

You know, guys, it's okay to engage your heads along with your hearts. Jearl Miles-Clark is a huge credit to track and field, a major talent, a hard worker, and so on. She also clearly did not deserve a spot on the relay team. Let me clarify that: Had she been included, the decision would have been justifiable, but by the same token the decision to leave her out of the pool is also justifiable. There is no reason to believe she is among the top six one-lappers in the U.S. this year, and after several 800's she would not have been at her best - whatever that is these days - for the 4 x 400. That so many people are blindly supporting her here is a credit to her accomplishments, her personality, and her reputation - but that's all it is.

Eureka!!

Richard Neer wrote:

For the second time, I am well aware of the rules and that Ms. Miles-Clark was eligible for the pool. I disagree with the fact that a medal should have been bequeathed upon her.

i don't think most people think that a medal should have been bequeathed to her. however, she demonstrated fitness (by making the final of the OG, by winning her 2 400 meter races this spring, by setting a personal best this winter over 500 meters). whats more, her past performances on u.s. national team relays show that she has been not only a dependable leg, but one that consistently turned in the best performances this country has.

no other team member eligble for selection could come close to the criteria displayed by jearl miles-clark. anyway you slice it, they dropped her because of her age and because of the politics of the coaches. that's wrong, and it certainly doesn't involve "bequeathing" a medal to JMC.

It is not only about getting a medal, Jearl already has 2 gold and 1 silver for relay runs. If you are aware of world class running, there is just no room for a 51.99 RELAY carry when you have someone who has run 48-49 slpits EVERYTIME since 1991. Jearl has just not run 51 anything on any relay split. This is just common sense. You have your view point and the rest of America has theirs.

If you look at her times that she ran in March and April and her split at Penn relay in Late April, and look at her track record of running 50. every year for the last 10 in the open 400. You track knowledge would confirm that her 1:57 would, plus more training since April would allow her to run at least 50. open which is would land her in the top 400m Yes reputation, work ethic are important and you do not take off a vetern even if she is .1 slower which is not the case because she is older. Sorry that does not fly. Look at other countries and how the respect the elder athletes who have run great over the years.

You are right it is okay to think with your head as well as your heart and I would encourage you to do the same. JMC has run the 800 or the 400 at every major championship before she has run the relay and at those championships she has always split 49 seconds or faster. It would not have been a problem for if she had been selected to the pool as she as beaten the trials champ this year and also run a faster time than the 6th place finisher at the trials. You add these factors to her accomplihments on the relay in the past and it is simply a no brainer. Your attitude is part of the problem, lets take care of the athlete that might be araound next year and lets crap on the one who has given her heart and soul to this sport! Lets stop giving athletes things because they are associated with certain coaches, let them earn there way as JMC did!

Barabas wrote:

JMC has run the 800 or the 400 at every major championship before she has run the relay and at those championships she has always split 49 seconds or faster.

Those of you fantasizing that Miles-Clark would have run 49-point this year just because she did so during the Clinton years have passion on your side, while those of us who understand that she would not have managed this have logic on ours. Despite the sheer unbridled volume of the dumbass faction, there is no contest here.

The U.S. won the gold handily in the women's 4 x 400 and no one was screwed out of a gold medal.

It's time for you screaming idiots to fold your weak hands and shut the hell up.

With out showing that you need anger management classes why do you think Jearl would not have split 49...when she was running 50..open last year and split 49 on the relay last year(Paris).

Based on her 800 (running her fastest time in 5 years!), and beating our eventual American champion earlier this year in the 400, she is showing better fitness than last year.

Forget if she should be on the team or not. I don't understand your logic about why she would not do what she has always done when her fitness is clearly stating that she is as good as previous years. It sounds like you are saying she did it then and can't do it now, but her fitness level from what I've seen on TV shows her to be able to do her usual Jearl Miles/Clark stuff. (it sounds like you're hating a little)..

Hold our weak hands and shut up. Now I find that to be interesting. CC and MR split 51.55 and 51.99 and you call our hands weak. Maybe you should be the one who shuts up. Bottom line JMC was wronged here and everyone can see that. Everyone that is except those who choose to be ignorant to the facts of the matter. Yes the USA one the gold, but JMC deserved to and earnded the right to run at least a round. Leave the insults out of this and show some class if possible.