Cross Country in Olympics: Teams and Individuals? Drop track 10000?

No way they should drop the 10. XC and track are fundamentally different sports. Also, they are talking about the WINTER Olympics for XC, which means the field wouldn't be diluted at all. It would be really great for the sport.

Did you even look at the front page? The quote from IOC says they are against having it in the winter.

xenonscreams wrote:

No way they should drop the 10. XC and track are fundamentally different sports. Also, they are talking about the WINTER Olympics for XC, which means the field wouldn't be diluted at all. It would be really great for the sport.

1) They 100% aren't talking about the Winter Olympics.

IAAF deputy general secretary Nick Davies: ”The IOC has never said that cross country could not be part of an Olympic athletics program, but were against having it as a new event added to the Winter Olympics.”

2) Yes. In my mind, you drop the 10k. Otherwise you could have the same guy win the 5k, 10k, xc. I guess that happens in sports like swimming but seems absurd to me.

To me xc should promoted as the pinnacle of running. But I'd try to go to the IOC and say, "Hey if we do drop the 10k, could we add xc to the Winter Olympics?" Then it would be incredible as it would be the one running event.

Plus it would come in the year that there is no world championships in track.

I guess we can always dream.

-Rojo (aka "the unnofficial commissioner")

The 10000 should be dropped anyway. It's only there for historic reasons. 10000 ~ 5000 for these guys.

based on the op-eds out there, it seems that the big reason the IOC didn't want XC was because there were still debates about sports that are definitely winter olympic sports, such as skiing half pipe and women's ski jumping. Now that both of those events are included, it is not entirely unreasonable that XC could make an appearance ins 2022 or 2026

based on the op-eds out there, it seems that the big reason the IOC didn't want XC was because there were still debates about sports that are definitely winter olympic sports, such as skiing half pipe and women's ski jumping. Now that both of those events are included, it is not entirely unreasonable that XC could make an appearance ins 2022 or 2026

It would naturally make sense to do XC worlds at the Olympics once every four years.

I've always felt uneasy about any Olympic sport where the same person could win multiple medals (relays excluded). If the same guy can win the 100m and 200m dash, then the events don't seem different enough. Likewise when the same person can win the 5k and the 10k, the events don't seem different enough. More events help get more athletes, but I think they lack diversity. Like with Michael Phelps it really begs the question are all these events too similar.

NotRobRose wrote:

there were still debates about sports that are definitely winter olympic sports, such as skiing half pipe and women's ski jumping.

Maybe I missed what you are saying, but how are those events not winter sports. I've found that it's pretty hard to ski without snow.

As much as I would love to see cross-country as a olympic sport, I don't think it belongs in the winter olympics because it is not exclusively winter sport. To me cross-country skiing is the winter equivalent of distance running. I just doesn't make sense to run in shoes on courses with the potential for feet of snow and sub-zero temperatures. However, I am all for replacing the 10000m on the track with a team cross-country event for the summer olympics!

Shoebacca wrote:

I've always felt uneasy about any Olympic sport where the same person could win multiple medals (relays excluded). If the same guy can win the 100m and 200m dash, then the events don't seem different enough. Likewise when the same person can win the 5k and the 10k, the events don't seem different enough.

So you believe all swimming events except freestyle should be removed from the Olympics? What about diving from different heights? What about race-walking? What about Velodome cycling? What about open water kayaking and canoeing? Where do you draw the line?

I agree that 5000m and 10000m races are too similar but I don't agree with your post at all. For my money, XC > 10000m and running should be a Summer Olympic sport.

Hiker Trash wrote:

NotRobRose wrote:

there were still debates about sports that are definitely winter olympic sports, such as skiing half pipe and women's ski jumping.

Maybe I missed what you are saying, but how are those events not winter sports. I've found that it's pretty hard to ski without snow.

I was confused at first too before I understood. What he's saying is that there was debate about bringing XC into the winter games when there were sports that were "definitely winter sports such as skiing half pipe and women's ski jumping" that weren't in already. Now that they are in they can debate XC more since there aren't any events that should necessarily get in before it.

There's a limit on how many athletes can compete in the Olympics (and a quota for each sport).

They're not going to drop one event and bring in another which could have double or treble the number of athletes.

Oh, and it's dull as dishwater. There's a reason why the World Cross has died a death in recent years.

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You absolutely do not get rid of the 10,000 meters on the track. The 2012 men's 10,000 meter Olympic final was one of the top three most exciting races of the Olympics.

The way you solve that one is to have the cross country race on the same day as the 5000 or 10,000 final.

Olympics are 16 days. Put the XC race on the first weekend, a week before track & field begins.

TSO yo wrote:

"So you believe all swimming events except freestyle should be removed from the Olympics?"

Yes!

"What about diving from different heights?"

Yes!

"What about race-walking? What about Velodome cycling? What about open water kayaking and canoeing? Where do you draw the line?"

Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes!

The Olympics have become a mess, a ridiculous amount of second-tier and judged sports. It's all about the money, so I don't have any illusions that it will change, but I'd like to see all the rhythmic-minor-garbage sports eliminated.

Young guy wrote:

The 10000 should be dropped anyway. It's only there for historic reasons. 10000 ~ 5000 for these guys.

I would go further and drop the Olympics entirely. They are a waste of money, full of drug cheats, and only exist for historical reasons.

sthiop wrote:

TSO yo wrote:

"So you believe all swimming events except freestyle should be removed from the Olympics?"

Yes!

"What about diving from different heights?"

Yes!

"What about race-walking? What about Velodome cycling? What about open water kayaking and canoeing? Where do you draw the line?"

Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes!

The Olympics have become a mess, a ridiculous amount of second-tier and judged sports. It's all about the money, so I don't have any illusions that it will change, but I'd like to see all the rhythmic-minor-garbage sports eliminated.

In the US track is a second tier sport for all but 1 week out of every 4 years. Even then I suspect gymnastics draws better TV numbers.

How about this: we turn the steeple in to an XC race! Put the barriers and the water jumps out there with some hills and mud and maybe some fire jazz it up a bit. Let people push each other around a little. Viola, running is relevant again.

In terms of entertaining winter sports, why don't we make skijoring an Olympic sport? For those who don't know, it involves being towed behind horse at full gallop on downhill skis through a course with gates and jumps and collecting rings like sonic the hedgehog. Fastest time wins, time penalties for missed rings. It is probably one of the most exciting sports invented.

no xc in in the oh's

drop the winter oh's altogether

keep 10K in summer oh's

add IAAF Outdoor WC in bye years (2014, 2018, 2022, ...)

XC in the Winter Olympics would be awesome but could any of you imagine running a 10k or 12k in the freezing winter in Canada or Norway? That would suck and probably be a little dangerous. The only time that could really be enjoyable and not incredibly un-fun for athletes would be in places like Salt Lake City and Sochi where there's snow and beaches just miles apart.

In a perfect world:

*Drop 10k from track

*Add 12k cross country

The cross country course would already be there, since the modern pentathlon has cross country in it (though running a 1000 meter course twelve times would be lame).

- OR -

*Drop 10k from track

*Add 12k and maybe 8k cross country to Winter

Boom. Everybody satisfied.