Should USATF Let Webb into the OT 5000?

Yes, he'll run at least half decent as there is no way he's in worse than 13:30 shape. The biggest draw however would be his marketability in it as EVERY running fan would be super tuned in to see how he would do, especially the message board crowd.

Webb is far at the bottom of the provisional times for the m 5000, and shouldn't get in by existing rules. However, I'd give him a thumbs-up based on this: Give a spot to provisional qualifiers who are past Olympians. Good for fans, good for the sport, possibly good (very long shot) for the U.S. Olympic team.

I don't feel he deserves it. One of my favorite things about track is that the stopwatch tells you how good you are and determines things. There's no debating random stats in a variety of skill areas. If Webb wanted in, he should have run the time. 13:49 should not get him in.

No, he does not have a single result which indicates he is capable of being competitive in the 5000m.

If they let trash like Mo Trafeh in, then they might as well let one of the greatest US athletes ever in.

"Fair" to me is finishing top-3 at the Trials to qualify for the Olympics.80% of the athletes at the Trials have no real chance at making the Olympic team. They are just taking up space. I give Webb a very good chance at making the team at 5000m.There is a Trials A qualifying standard. If you want to earn your way into the Trials then run the damn A standard. All bets are off if you don't run the A standard. We need to run the best athletes at the Trials in order to put together the best team. We cannot go strictly down the provisional qualifiers list... that is just idiocy.

SomeActualData wrote:

Per the Washington Post, he's petitioning to get in.

To me, this depends on the deeper question of whether the goal is for the USA to select the best Olympic team OR select our Olympic team in the fairest way possible. Two different things. If it's the former (best team), then you'd say let let him in as it can't hurt and he has the potential, if he it somehow pulls it all together, to maybe make something happen in London. If it's the latter (fairest team) then no, he had to make the standard just like everyone else.

Personally, I think the US should stick with trying to select the team in the fairest way possible. I'd rather have our country be more fair with fewer medals than less fair with more medals.

blaznbison24 wrote:

13:49 should not get him in.

The 13:49 will not be getting him in, it's the 1:43/3:30/3:46 etc. doing that.

Of course! Let the former Olympians and record holders run whatever they want. Just expand the field by one so he doesn't bump anyone.

kartelite wrote:

blaznbison24 wrote:

13:49 should not get him in.

The 13:49 will not be getting him in, it's the 1:43/3:30/3:46 etc. doing that.

Well if 1:43/3:30/3:46 would be getting him in, then why not just use his 13:10 5000 PR? That's plenty fast to get in, except that it's too long ago, just like the 1:43/3:30/3:46.

kartelite wrote:

blaznbison24 wrote:

13:49 should not get him in.

The 13:49 will not be getting him in, it's the 1:43/3:30/3:46 etc. doing that.

Those times were also in 2007 in events that don't tell you much about the 5k. Soulja Boy is not going to be playing "Crank That" at the Super Bowl next year. The time standards are pretty clear and his petition should be with the stopwatch, not the USATF.

Track should be a very black and white sport and allowing him to cut in line over athletes that are in better current 5k shape is completely unfair.

webfoot wrote:

80% of the athletes at the Trials have no real chance at making the Olympic team. They are just taking up space. I give Webb a very good chance at making the team at 5000m.

On what basis can you possibly say there is a very good chance for Webb to make the team at 5000m?

I don't think it's very fair considering he's only doing it because there's no hope in the 1500 for him.

Yes, they should let him in.

Every organization and set of rules should have a human side.

Webb has done a lot for the sport, he is an American record holder and is coming back from a long stretch recovering from surgery/injury etc.

He's represented his country before, so he knows what's involved.

Let him in if it can be done without excluding a runner who has qualified time wise. Webb is a 1500m/miler so running the 5k is ?

webfoot wrote:

"Fair" to me is finishing top-3 at the Trials to qualify for the Olympics.

80% of the athletes at the Trials have no real chance at making the Olympic team. They are just taking up space. I give Webb a very good chance at making the team at 5000m.

There is a Trials A qualifying standard. If you want to earn your way into the Trials then run the damn A standard. All bets are off if you don't run the A standard. We need to run the best athletes at the Trials in order to put together the best team. We cannot go strictly down the provisional qualifiers list... that is just idiocy.

well said.

No, they shouldn't let him in. What is this, Athletics Kenya? Should USATF just let any famous runner in that will give them attention? By some of the logic described here, we should be letting Edwin Moses, Carl Lewis, and Johnny Gray in the Olympic Trials simply because they are past Olympians. He didn't run the time beforehand, just like all the other guys that have run faster than him and aren't running in the trials.

I don't give a hoot if it's Alan Webb. He didn't run the times in the qualifying period, and he hasn't shown that he can compete with the top guys. Just like that guy said during that graduation speech in Masschusetts, nobody is special.

If they do let him in the 5000, it's for publicity, pure and simple. Don't change the standards for one dude a few days before the Olympic Trials. That's ridiculous. It would a total slap in the face to any runners that ran faster than Webb and are not allowed into the race.

I was just about to mention Athletics Kenya. Coming from one of those Commonwealth countries that regularly gets criticised for inconsistent selection criteria, this is quite amusing.

Nobody with the Trials A standard would get bumped, so I don't have much of a problem with letting him in. Yeah, it sucks if you'd have been the last person to make it, but come on. You'd be the last person to make it, not a real contender.

Webb moving in to the 5k will allow one more person to go into the 1500m. If USATF add Webb as an extra body to the 5k, then the result is no one getting screwed over, and one extra person going to the Olympic Trials. Looks like that could even be Dan Clark, a guy who quit his big four accounting position to train specifically to make the trials. That'd be a feel good story on all accounts.