Jeneba Tarmoh, PLEASE do not be bullied into the run-off! You are an OLYMPIAN.

Yeah that's not possible. Both athletes have to agree to a coinflip.

To be a 1000% honest with you, I felt like I was the only one that saw that Tarmoh clearly won that race. Seriously. From the end of the race and watching that photo finish closely, it was obvious that it was extremely close but undoubtedly won by Tarmoh.

I know folks are not suspecting Nike to have anything to do with this, but you have to consider the facts: Felix has been there poster-girl for the Olympics, is much more "TV screen friendly", and carries a much bigger global name than Tarmoh. Although they have the same coach and sponsor, I'm willing to bet my left leg that Nike is pushing for Felix to go in the 100 and NOT Tarmoh. This entire debacle speaks to the pervasive corruption of track and field in the US and continues to put the sport in a position in which EVERYTHING is questioned suspiciously. And we wonder why the sport is losing popularity? A joke.

I agree with the OP. I'm pretty sure Tarmoh and her agent isn't reading this message board. But, boy, I really, really wish they would just this one time. DO NOT participate with this run-off. You have no need to. Come forward and reveal the ugly side of track and field in the US that the world doesn't want us to see. Felix, shame on you. You know good damn well Tarmoh beat you.

Really silly posts. If Tarmoh doesn't agree to a run off, they flip a coin. She has two options.

Nappy Roots wrote:

To be a 1000% honest with you, I felt like I was the only one that saw that Tarmoh clearly won that race. Seriously. From the end of the race and watching that photo finish closely, it was obvious that it was extremely close but undoubtedly won by Tarmoh.

The photo clearly shows a dead heat.

And what do you people want Tarmoh to do? If she refuses to participate, the spot goes to Felix. If Tarmoh wants in, she participates in the run-off. She know this. Why don't you?

That's not true. A coin flip is only if they BOTH agree to it. So if Felix says runoff...it's a runoff. I do think they should get David Bowie to judge the finish.

The IAAF rules are clear on a tie. Coin flip,period. The USATF is behaving as if there are no rules on the issue. They are creating too much drama. In my view, this is the blight of reality tv invading athletics. What if Alyson gets injured? there goes the 200m chances, every race is a risk.

Runoff is something the silly NBC folks made up. We all know who reached the line first. Karma is a bitch, Karma is a bitch that is all I am going to say. Jeneba might to be as photogenic as Alyson, but, if the roles were reversed this travesty will not be happening.

What the hell are you talking about? She doesn't have a spot to lose right now, so therefore she has nothing to "lose" by doing a run-off. Also, this isn't a "made up on-the-fly scheme", this whole process is very clearly defined in the rule book. Felix decided on the run-off so she HAS TO DO THE RUN-OFF. I really don't see what you're complaining about right now. And if you want to get into the subject over whether or not she beat Felix in the race, you need to understand that the timer very hastily had to put up times for Felix and Tarmoh and quickly asked for someone to review his call. If you look at the finish photo you can see that Tarmoh likely had part of her torso ahead of Felix, but you don't know that... her head is blocking the rest of the photo.

Yes she is an Olympian. She will run the relay.

Nappy Roots wrote:

To be a 1000% honest with you, I felt like I was the only one that saw that Tarmoh clearly won that race. Seriously. From the end of the race and watching that photo finish closely, it was obvious that it was extremely close but undoubtedly won by Tarmoh.

I will second this by saying that I also thought Tarmoh won. How fast are eyes though in frames per second?

She needs to calm down and quit whining. She hasn't earned a spot to anything yet, she earned a 3rd place tie which has to be broken.

I evaluate Finish Images and unless you really understand how FinishLynx cameras work you need to stop talking. Several times I've watched a race that's been close and thought "oh that person one" only to see that was not the case in the image and usually not even close. A few things come into play, the subjectivity of the torso and the fact that their bibs were white same as the finish line make it IMPOSSIBLE to say that either one beat the other.

Yes it's a horrible situation that they didn't have procedure and they let her think she'd made it and somehow USATF should compensate for that but not by letting the wrong person go to the Olympics. But I don't know what she's complaining about, there was a tie, she gets to run head to head against that person to break it, or I bet she could have convinced Felix of a coin toss, but she shouldn't expect to throw a fit and just get an Olympic spot.

**"oh that person won"*** my bad

"FinishLynxUser" - just how would you feel if you had been declared the third place finisher, given a victory lap, paraded in a press conference, and THEN told - wait a minute, things have changed and you did not make the Olympic team in the 100M? I think that with all that Tarmoh has been damn classy. USATF is a bad joke.

"natosha fan" - how would you feel if you were the announced fourth place finisher, not given a victory lap or press conference and THEN told - wait a minute, things have changed and you may not be fourth after all?

A hell of a lot better than Tarmoh felt.

R. U. Blind wrote:

The photo clearly shows a dead heat.

So clearly that the HEAD TIMER, who has been doing this for decades and called THOUSANDS of finishes, called it a win for Tarmoh?

Get lost.

Idontevenknow wrote:

this isn't a "made up on-the-fly scheme", this whole process is very clearly defined in the rule book.

You are just lying.

Pathetic.

It is well known that there is nothing in the "rule book" on this. What it says in the rule book is coin toss, in fact.

USATF (Nike and NBC) are making up the rules as they go, and bullying runners into accepting them:

FinishLynx User wrote:

She needs to calm down and quit whining.

She isn't whining. As a spectator and a reader, I would say she has been a class act through this display of incompetence from USATF.

She calmly stated that she preferred not to do the run-off, but was forced to and told she wouldn't get the 100 spot otherwise. If that's not bullying, what is?

"Also, this isn't a "made up on-the-fly scheme", this whole process is very clearly defined in the rule book."

Since when? Monday?

Tarmoh won, but Felix is semi-hot, so she ties!