Irregardless of how Allyson Felix does at US Trials (she is running the 200 I believe), will she be given a relay slot in one of the relay events for Tokyo?
In other words, how bad would she have to run at US Trials to NOT get a relay slot for Tokyo? If she makes the 200 final at US Trials will she be given a relay slot for Tokyo?
Well?
Normally the relays spots are given too 400m runner's but they can be given to 200m and hurdlers if the can run a good 400m. I don't think she's running the 400m at the trials but if she drops a 50.5(before the trials)that's probably good enough for the mixed relay and 49.8 for the regular.
"Irregardless" is not a word.
fahrenheit452 wrote:
"Irregardless" is not a word.
It's in the dictionary and has a meaning.
Yes, if she makes the finals in the 200 they'll probably let her run in the prelims of both relays. I would say the same goes for Boling, (although if they don't burn him out during the college season he might earn a podium spot.)
utbcw wrote:
Yes, if she makes the finals in the 200 they'll probably let her run in the prelims of both relays. I would say the same goes for Laird, (although if they don't burn him out during the college season he might earn a podium spot.)
Fixed
NBC needs their human interest stories and she will be one of them.
Alyson has been allotted a marketing spot on Team USA. This was clear earlier this spring when a story ran about her decision that Tokyo would be her final Olympics.
She has been made too big to fail. Enjoy, everybody.
She should and will. It won’t be a final spot so no need to b!tch.
Babbits wrote:
utbcw wrote:
Yes, if she makes the finals in the 200 they'll probably let her run in the prelims of both relays. I would say the same goes for Laird, (although if they don't burn him out during the college season he might earn a podium spot.)
Fixed
it's not fixed, it's a business decision,
Felix brings in more marketing money from the olympics than any other female sprinter ever will, and she is in good enough shape to... assist?... in a relay with 3 other studs, likely to include Muhammad and McLaughlin,
At the end of the day, the Olympics are all about telling a story about the almighty American sports system and its legacy (her 5th olympics if im not mistaken so she already leaves a huge legacy), so she should be part of the relay because she will always be influential on USATF while she is still active even if she's not in her 2008-2012 shape anymore,
the USOC knows it, she knows it, hell even her competitors know it who can forget 100m 2012 OTs?
call it alternative meritocracy at this point lol,
I don't know the USATF process these days, but the 4X400 and 4X100 relay pools came from the top 6 finishers at the Trials in the 400 and the 100.
They would also open it up for other members of the Olympic team from another event.
If she doesn't make the 200m team and doesn't run the 400 or 100, I don't see how she gets placed on any relay team.
In 1992, Michael Johnson only ran the 200 at the Trials (and won that).
At the Games he did not make the 200 finals because he got food poisoning.
I remember their was controversy because it was announced Michael Johnson was not on the 4X400 and they would go with the top 6 from the trials.
But Danny Everett got hurt in his 400m prelim and could not run.
So, the replaced him with Johnson in the prelim and in the finals they kept Johnson in over Hall and Jenkins (the 5th and 6th place 400m finishers at the Trials).
All six (Johnson, Hall, Jenkins, Watts, Valmon and Lewis) received a Gold medal. The team in the finals broke the world record.
Everett did not, since he didn't run either of the 4X400 races. Though he did have a relay Gold from 1988.
I guess I went a little deep on the history but my point is, I don't see how Felix has auto anything before running any trials.
But Johnson was, of course, the best 200/400 metre runner in the world. He had current credentials; and, if you watch his interviews with the American press during the '92 Olympics, it was well-understood that he was getting over his poisoning day-by-day. There was a sense that his 200m came too early. Even a poorly Johnson was splitting 44.2. That was a safe pair of hands rather than 5th and 6th placers who were more inclined to blow their wallets in the trials in order just to get to the Olympics.
I wonder if NBC has a Felix clause in their contract to broadcast the Olympics in the US. No Felix on the team and the price goes down $50M or so.