Florida's Genevieve LaCaze in battle with Athletics Australia to be named to Olympic team.

Good for her. Atleast she'll get the Olympic experience but like someone else previously mentioned...She has NO realistic chance of making it to the finals let alone medaling. I bet Franek, Coburn and Kipp blow her out of the water.

Of course she's going to get blown out of the water. You have to get your ass kicked to realize how shitty you are so you can improve. That's why sending athletes to international competition is so important.

Kybaws wrote:

Good for her. Atleast she'll get the Olympic experience but like someone else previously mentioned...She has NO realistic chance of making it to the finals let alone medaling. I bet Franek, Coburn and Kipp blow her out of the water.

Aren't you the idiot that said ...

Kybaws wrote:

Good for Athletics Australia for doing the RIGHT thing and upholding their own policy.

Yep.

Can you just shut up and let her enjoy the experience. She will run what she runs. Why you feel the need to say she will get blown out of the water is anyone's guess. Let it be and kindly fu ck off.

You never know how someone will perform at the Olympics unless you send them. Why does Athletics Australia feel the need to apply their own selection criteria in addition to the standards set by the IOC? We should send as big a team as possible. Athletics Australia should be fighting to have athletes added to the team, not excluded from the team. Athletics Australia should be ashamed of themselves for putting their egos and additional rules above the needs of the athletes. Australians want to send their sons and daughters to the Olympics. The public want to see young Australians represent the country with pride. It's more than just winning medals.

B-Sample wrote:

Common sense prevailed after all:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1659825/LaCaze-set-for-London-after-AA-backflip

Wonderful news.

LaCaze told Fairfax she was delighted and "in shock" over the decision.

"It's awesome. It's so exciting, I can't believe it, I am so happy," she said from the US.

"I am in shock. I just woke up because my phone kept ringing and I thought something must be up and I saw a text from my dad saying 'Gen you are in' and I put two and two together with all the phone calls.

"I just can't believe it. I have been aiming for this for as long as I can remember."

B-Sample wrote:

And she's hot but she's no Coburn or Garcia.

I disagree, I think she's way hotter than Coburn...who is also very hot, so that's saying something.

That said, I honestly don't understand countries that don't send the maximum number of athletes possible. Ireland, Canada, Australia, South Africa...they all make it more difficult on themselves than it needs to be with extra tough A standards and other criteria. Like the regular "A" standard isn't tough enough? If you're good enough to run an "A" standard, you've earned the right to represent your country at the Olympics.

observating wrote:

Kybaws wrote:

Good for her. Atleast she'll get the Olympic experience but like someone else previously mentioned...She has NO realistic chance of making it to the finals let alone medaling. I bet Franek, Coburn and Kipp blow her out of the water.

Aren't you the idiot that said ...

Kybaws wrote:

Good for Athletics Australia for doing the RIGHT thing and upholding their own policy.

Yep.

Can you just shut up and let her enjoy the experience. She will run what she runs. Why you feel the need to say she will get blown out of the water is anyone's guess. Let it be and kindly fu ck off.

Keep on 'observating' from your couch obsessing over athletes you always hoped to be but never were fat-ass.

Athletics Australia:

Still working to keep athletes off teams.

Still changing qualifying standards to justify their unnecessary positions.

Still trying to exercise authority when none is required. Still making the sport less attractive to young athletes.

Still turning off the public with their poor marketing skills.

Still squabbling over silly "rules" they invented themselves.

Still putting their own egos above the athletes needs.

Clean house and hire people who know how to develop athletes and market the sport to future participants and the public!

The US should be allowing people to make A standard right up to the IOC deadline, otherwise they are no different than these other idiotic federations. Anything else is about media concerns, not the athletes interest. It's not like the deadline is the week before the Olympics.

So the the US is little differnt than other federations here. What if a WR holder bombs at the trials - they don't go? How is that different than Kenya and their problems?

The US selction system may be somewhat fair (depending on one's interpretation of fair), but it is by no means ideal either.

Keep on 'observating' from your couch obsessing over athletes you always hoped to be but never were fat-ass.[/quote]

Nice rebuttal.

Eric Hollingsworth, the Australian track coach, is more worried about himself than the athletes he is supposed to represent. I am glad the AOC overruled AA's Olympic qualifying deadline. The person who came up with the deadline, and anyone who supported it, should be fired. AA What kind of coach tries to exclude athletes from a team and refuses to accept athletes who qualify for the games in the weeks leading up to the event? AA should be taking as many athletes as possible to improve their odds of making finals and winning medals. Plus, they should be keen to take athletes who are performing their best just prior to the games.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The change now puts national high performance coach Eric Hollingsworth in an awkward position of accepting on to the team an athlete he said he personally thought should not be there because she had missed the deadline.

Hollingsworth was troubled by the cultural problem in the sport of deadlines being meaningless and deals being done.

''As far as I am concerned it is one of the cultural issues of this sport - and I was brought in to bring clarity, rather than everything being done behind closed doors,'' he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics-2012/backflip-sends-steeplechaser-flying-to-games-20120616-20h6p.html#ixzz1xzhxSjnm

The reason eric should be held accountable over this to some extent is because he is the high performance manager and has CREATED A CULTURE OF EXCLUSION rather than inclusion. He is always prepared to take the hard stance AGAINST THE ATHLETE but never for the athlete.

This elitist culture lead to the establishment of 1) the trials being so early so that Pearson et al could fit in the world indoors and 2) the early cut-off which suited the working schedule of those on the Athletics Australia board and others with 'power' in their office rather than maximising opportunities for the athletes.

Athletics Australia has an obligation of SERVING THE ATHLETES THAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT. This has gone wayward, the majority on the board are as mad with power and stringent to red-tape as they have ever been.

- great post re Riseley setting precendent last year, as was the note of Breen not even having a B in opposed to Gen who has an A.

- Solomon doesn't owe anybody anything. The kid won the last two national titles in 45:x at 18 and 19 and has clearly earnt the individual race in addition to his consolation prize of being the best runner on our relay team.

Extending the qualifying period hasnt done anything for other athletes... there are no race in europe of international standard by next Thursday and I dont think any aussies are in the US?

Who should be pissed is 1) Brichacek- national champ, B qualifier and no-one running her event (can use Breen as a precendent) and 2) Renshaw, with riseley likely to run the 1500m he has multiple B qualifiers and was second to riseley at the trial. I hope they appealed and are successful.. doubt they will because the only way to win a border line call these days is media hype and not your own federation backing their athlete.

Athletes work all their lives only to have someone clicking pens in an administration building or not even working in the sport and collecting on the board tell them they aren't good enough.

DRAW THE LINE AT INCLUDING EVERYONE YOU CAN, FIGHT FOR THE ATHLETES NOT AGAINST THEM!

... forgot to add Manou and Lapierre to that list with Bichacek and Renshaw.... Good luck to them both

Steffensen. Hes run a b, unfotunately got injured but will be there for the relay. If your in the relay why not the individual. It should be so simple I just dont understand...

runfaster1 wrote:

You never know how someone will perform at the Olympics unless you send them. Why does Athletics Australia feel the need to apply their own selection criteria in addition to the standards set by the IOC? We should send as big a team as possible. Athletics Australia should be fighting to have athletes added to the team, not excluded from the team. Athletics Australia should be ashamed of themselves for putting their egos and additional rules above the needs of the athletes. Australians want to send their sons and daughters to the Olympics. The public want to see young Australians represent the country with pride. It's more than just winning medals.

Yeah, its pretty silly. But listen to this, in Norway (who of course always send very few athletes) we only send athletes who can compete for a top 12 place. How idiotic is that? Our A and B standards are harder than the ones set by IOC.

B-Sample wrote:

Common sense prevailed after all:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1659825/LaCaze-set-for-London-after-AA-backflip

I saw that. Really smart decision by AA.

There should be some room for flexibility.

I mean, obviously you cannot wait until the week before the games...but this was a good backflip.

I wonder if she was dog ugly if they would have reversed their decision?

kjhgf wrote:

Of course she's going to get blown out of the water. You have to get your ass kicked to realize how shitty you are so you can improve. That's why sending athletes to international competition is so important.

Actually you don't have to get your ass kicked to realize how shitty you are, you just have to be you.

What a stupid fukking statement.

I don't agree that sending an athlete to an Olympic Games for "experience" is appropriate. There are a ton of international events for athletes to gain top level experience. Today they can go to Grand Prix events, Diamond Leagues, and World Champs. Olympics should be for people ready to compete at that level. I think it devalues the competition to use it as a training ground. Personally.

I also agree with the approach by the Norwegian federation. New Zealand has the same approach. Merely meeting the standard isn't enough. You have to be capable of portraying a good image of your sport and of the country you are representing. It does cost a lot to send an athlete to an Olympic Games, and the countries quite rightly want to be maximum value for their money. Sending an athlete knowing they won't get past a first round helps neither the profile of the country, nor the profile of that sport within that country.

Here's an idea. If it's only worth having the 12 best athletes at the games, then why isn't the track made a little wider. Say to 12 lanes. Do away with the the heats and move to straight finals. That will save money and there will be little embarrassment. While at it, why don't the Olympic Games be renamed to the Goodwill Games. It would seem like an appropriate idea if the focus of the games is about placing in your event. Will also save those confusing moments where an unknown crops up and dusts everyone, the big problem here being the embarrassment when the appropriate national anthem can't be found. I am seeing so many positives.

Here I was thinking that it was all about the countries of the world coming together and being represented by their athletes doing the best they could, regardless of the result.

Which reminds me... I need to stop dreaming of things. Might even be time to stop running and racing as I am never going to place top 12 (well not at the Olympics).

Isn't our sport trying to die as it is? We had better make sure we finish it off and discourage anyone who has dreamed of "just making the games". I mean that is a truly unworthy goal. So much less of a goal than winning a Gold.

Hmmm