Nicole Bush's mishap

polevaultpower wrote:

I mean seriously, if the jury feels that Kipp impeded Bush, then she should be DQ'd right?

Perhaps not if they judge the contact to be purely incidental. Maybe they allow more latitude for this in the steeple than in other events.

And what's with the 14 people qualifying for the finals in this event? I know there's no non-arbitrary reason to keep it at the usual 12 or 16, but could this be centered around the expectation of allowing an "extra" athlete or two? Actually, for all I know 12 us the usual number in a big-time SC final and 14 is already a little bloated.

The relevant rule gives the officials a lot of options. It says runners who obstruct may be disqualified, but it does not say that they must be. It also gives the referees considerable discretion in deciding whether (or how) to give redress to those who have been obstructed.

Given this, it seems their decision was consistent with the letter of the rules.

Section 4 of Rule 163: Running Competition. .

Any competitor or participant jostling, running across, or obstructing another

competitor or participant so as to impede his or her progress shall be liable to disqualification in that event.

The Referee shall have the authority to

order the race to be re-held, excluding the disqualified competitor or,

in the case of a heat, to permit any competitor(s) seriously affected by jostling or obstruction (other than the disqualified competitor) to compete in a subsequent round of the race.

Normally, such an athlete should have completed the event with bona fide effort.

Regardless of whether there has been a disqualification, the Referee, in exceptional circumstances, shall also have the authority to

advance a competitor seriously affected by jostling or obstruction or

to order the race to be re-held if it is just and reasonable to do so.

NOTE: Some factors to be considered when determining a disqualification include safety,equitable competition, severity of the infraction and resulting consequence

Then what's the point of running prelims if you can advance BECAUSE you tripped over a barrier (at the water jump to boot)! The whole challenge of the event is running fast while jumping obstacles.

I'm with PVP on this. Sometimes a contender doesn't advance. Let's decide this on the track where possible, not with endless potential protests.

This isn't 'nam. This is track and field. There are rules.

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

I'm with PVP on this. Sometimes a contender doesn't advance. Let's decide this on the track where possible, not with endless potential protests.

This isn't 'nam. This is track and field. There are rules.

I'm with you guys, though the way the rule is written almost seems to invite this sort of ruling.

Has anyone figured out why Bush crashed in the first place? From the videos I've seen, it looks like she just screwed up her approach. Did I miss something?

I read this as "Nicole's Bush mishap." Not what I thought this thread was going to be.

polevaultpower wrote:

Here is another angle on the video:

https://instagram.com/p/4aEIUFmXSQ/

l.

This instagram video makes it clear that Kipp is in no way responsible. She does bump Bush (people who say Kipp was 'all over her' haven't seen the video or are clueless) but only because of Bush's own actions. It is like I am driving down the road and a car is waiting to turn onto the lane I am already in, at the last second it pulls out and I cram into it. Yes, I hit it, but, no way is it my fault.

If Kipp didn't clip Bush's heal leading into the barrier, there is no way in hell she is responsible for any of this. Bush should be out.

I was quite impressed that both of them got up and finished the race.

A mindless application of the rules could have resulted in neither making the finals. This event serves a dual purpose of anointing a US champion, and qualifying a team for World's. The decisions of the USATF did not affect the first purpose, and arguably produced a better finals competition for the latter purpose. I think they made the right decisions.

(I would also like to see SRR in the 400 meter final, but I can't think of a good pretext for making that happen.)

I was standing along the fence near the water pit. Bush was right behind the front two runners who were side by side so she probably couldn't see the barrier and misjudged her jump. After falling into the water she got up fairly quickly and was starting to go when the larger runner Kipp lost her balance and fell from the edge of the pit onto Bush in the water. Kipp pushed down on Bush's shoulder to regain balance before exiting the pit, temporarily impeding Bush.

Given the circumstances and slippery conditions around the pit, the officials decided not to disqualify Kipp for knocking Bush down or for using her as a crutch to get out of the water. Kipp would not have been in the water had Bush not fallen in front of her, although it is the responsibility of trailing runners to avoid problems and traffic ahead. Four or five other runners jumped smoothly around Bush.

This incident occurred far enough into the race where both runners were fatigued. Bush falling twice at that juncture was probably quite taxing, aside from any injuries which might have occurred from having Kipp fall on (and possibly spike) her. Finishing within 14 seconds of a qualifying spot showed that she put out as hard an effort as people who qualified on time. So I doubt that the other competitors in this event will protest if they are beaten fair and square by Bush (or Kipp) in the final. I personally doubt that either will finish among the top four places.

You are way too high-brow for this forum.

Not really relevant wrote:

My hunch is that the USATF is simply following the lead of George Washington Plunkitt, a New York city pol who famously said, "What is the law between friends?"

Thanks for that explanation, which is the same thing I saw from the video.

sad wrote:

J.R. wrote:

Maybe they didn't realize that part of it, and didn't look that closely on the video.

I don't know, but it was obvious on the video that Kipp was all over Bush when they were coming over the barrier, and afterward.

Do you have a different video than this?

http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.p..._id=150027

I don't "have" it, but the video that I watched was the one of the race, not a blank USATF site.