Irish Athletics Shows Incompetence Again (marathon selection fiasco)

No one could care less mate, it's Ireland.

Do they explain their selection? While athletics selection committees are renowned for their incompetence, slower PR and loss in head to head competition would seem hard to justify.

I have never understood why there are "team" selections for track and field. Either you run faster, throw further, or jump higher. This "selection business" is not right. If you want selections, personality, and "issues of chemistry". Play another sport. Track (Athletics) is great because everyone can see clearly who won and the rules are not too complex that a casual observer can not ascertain what is going on within a few minutes.

This is along with many reasons why we (Track and Field) are not taken seriously among other sports.

Can you imagine Messi not starting, or Richie McCaw, or Lebron?

Said they had picked the team most likely to perform best at Rio.

Presumably they think Pollock is the better athlete overall (has much faster PBs at Half, and has run well at World Marathon before in 2013). Presumably they have taken into account that he was injured in the Berlin build up and then injured again so missed London this year.

Seems harsh to select on the basis of what someone 'might do if not injured' rather than what they have actually done. I think if fit and healthy Pollock is the better athlete but hard to not feel sorry for the other guy given that he went out there and got the job done and Pollock didn't!

You do know that Messi was NOT SELECTED to be one of the over age players on the Olympic team for his country. Hard to believe. Less objective that PB and head to head. And, apologies, off topic.

Hi Reboot runner:

I am referring to his club team; not the Olympic team. I can see given the context of the conversation why this caused confusion. I should have made that clearer.

Ciabanu's an immigrant, isn't he? Could that be a factor?

Yes bc Ireland is so good at marathons

I certainly wouldn't rule out a discriminatory angle here. I happen to believe if Sergiu was born in Ireland, with an Irish name he would be on the plane to Rio.

Casual racism and tribalism is accepted here and no one really does anything about it. Yet that said Ireland is mostly free of some of the more overt/ violent and institutional racism that takes place in the USA.

More likely though is Sergiu is a victim of the type of casual corruption that permeates Irish society. Many believe the fix has been in for Pollock to run Rio since the start of this process.

The national broadcaster is featuring him as one of the athletes profiled on the "Road to Rio " programme they are running

But aren't Pollock and Seaward British?

On the other hand, Alastair Cragg was put into an Olympic team without having set foot onto Ireland, if I recall correctly. I suppose Cragg sounds a bit more Irish than Ciabanu does but it's not a name that people would immediately take as Irish, which is also true of Pollock. How many are they sending?

HRE wrote:

On the other hand, Alastair Cragg was put into an Olympic team without having set foot onto Ireland, if I recall correctly. I suppose Cragg sounds a bit more Irish than Ciabanu does but it's not a name that people would immediately take as Irish, which is also true of Pollock. How many are they sending?

Looks like a full team of 3 each. I assume Cragg did not take up a spot from someone else.

"However, according to the Athletics Ireland criteria, selection wasn’t limited to marathon times only – and indeed performance record is what ultimately swing the third place in Pollock’s favour: he finished 14th in the World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff in March, two minutes and 37 seconds ahead of Seaward, and three minutes and 44 seconds ahead of Ciobanu. He was also 21st in the World Championship marathon in Moscow."

The selection panel is interesting

One of 5 is a sprints coach

One of five is a long distance expert who only coached one athlete who had run 29:55 for 10000m but in the year that he's coached him he's only ran 32:09

Fiasco? Please. There was never an indication that the three fastest would be selected. Fact.

Making an assumption that this was the case was a mistake Sergiu and his coach have made.

Why don't you post the section from the published Athletics Ireland criteria noting that the fastest three should go?

Are you saying that Ireland Athletics deliberately does not her fastest/best athletes?

Why?

St Marker wrote:

I certainly wouldn't rule out a discriminatory angle here. I happen to believe if Sergiu was born in Ireland, with an Irish name he would be on the plane to Rio.

Casual racism and tribalism is accepted here and no one really does anything about it. Yet that said Ireland is mostly free of some of the more overt/ violent and institutional racism that takes place in the USA.

I completely agree with this supposition and observation. I've lived in both the US and west IRL (Galway) and there is a lot of disdain for immigrants in Ireland, particularly central and eastern Europeans. On the surface, it seems quite blatant and unapologetic, but on the whole it is just that - more of a casual attitude than deep-rooted racism.

I quite prefer living in Ireland.

Their FASTEST guy has run 2:14:52....WGAF?

Just glad that cheat Fagan isn't going.

I just looked it up. Sergiu Ciabanu's PB is 2:15:14. Pollock's is 2:15:38. Neither of them would have any impact on the race. All they'll provide is the opportunity for spectators to give polite applause to long after the leaders pass.

Ciabanu would have just barely made the top 30 qualifiers for the US trials, 1 second ahead of Craig Curley and a few seconds behind Jake Schmitt.

For it to be a "fiasco", it would have to matter.

and a vice principal at a high school!