Siffan Hassan Running the XC in Belgrade

Bladerunner doesn't understand what the debate is about. There hasn't been a post yet in which somebody thought she couldn't make the team if required to do so the way the US, UK and possibly around 100 other countries select. I think there was actually a post somewhere pointing out that nobody said, "She wouldn't have been top-10 at Dutch National XC Champs." The post mentions that nobody has claimed as much, and you know what? Nobody has.

Yet there was a poster saying her move to Europe and transformation into being Dutch was hard enough that it qualifies her for every team. If coming from the school of hard knocks were sufficient to make US teams, Meb would have been on any he had wanted. His exit from Africa was worse than Hassan's. There was an actual war. But Meb had to attend Trials and get top-3. And he often did. But if you follow the rule at least one poster believes is just, he gets to bump Ritz in 2008.

And that's the point. She doesn't have to qualify. For anything. Could she? We all think so. But she doesn't have to add the national meet to the calendar, peak or taper for it, or even travel to it. If several posters were saying she is a joke of a hobby jogger, you'd have a point. Nobody is. She's probably the best distance runner in history. And I don't actually like her much or root for her.

But various posts HAVE mentioned that she doesn't have to attend national meets to be selected for international events. Seems to be true. And it DOES give her an advantage over her competitors who DO have to pack in a triple at a national selection meet if they want to triple at the big ones.

This clown has the audacity to claim there were obly 4 finishers at the Dutch national cross champs? And that 2 won't be attending Worlds? Feel free to post the results. I think this was the guy I referred to in the post just above.

Funny that quite a few posters believe ideal way to select a team is by resume as opposed to a selection race. Yet whenever this has been discussed here before, public opinion has been exactly the opposite. When Amby Burfoot recently suggested USATF change to the Dutch way - giving a lane to whoever they decide - I don't remember anybody agreeing. That's how Kenya does it for the marathon. The UK has done similar; I remember the Coe/Ovett era. Jamaica did it when Bolt didn't come through at their Trials.

It is true that a national federation is free to choose whom to send. Yet, whenever somebody writes a plea to end USATF Trials races, all of you are offended. Look at the medalists the US has had. Often they wouldn't have gotten an entry if they were selected by Max's whim. Molly certainly wouldn't have. Yet, you're all on board with the "no race for the team" in this case.