At each water stop Galen Rupp chucked off his old soaked hat and grabbed a new one from his coach. Rules?

Well first, NBC announcers don't know sh!t I wouldn't put much stock into it.

2nd, this has to be nipped in the bud now. Otherwise I'm getting someone to change my diaper every 8k.

It has been covered in other places but it was with his water and (I think) those hats were provided -as apparently others did so as well. Even if it was his own hat(s) they were given to the official water station and had to go through all the protocols - so if illegal the officials let it happen.

Sorry your conspiracy theory will not hold up.....

Nothing is explicitly mentioned about distributing other items, but under (d) it does say that organizing officials are responsible for supervising the stations.

Can anyone provide more insight here?

IAAF Rule 240

Drinking/Sponging and Refreshment Stations

8. (a) Water and other suitable refreshments shall be available at the start and finish of all races.

(b) For all events up to and including 10km, drinking/sponging shall be provided at suitable intervals of approximately 2-3km if weather conditions warrant such provision.

(c) For all events longer than 10km, refreshment stations shall be provided at approximately every 5km. In addition, drinking / sponging stations for water only shall be placed approximately midway between the refreshment stations or more frequently if weather conditions warrant such provision.

(d) Refreshments, which may be provided either by the Organising Committee or the athlete, shall be made available at the stations nominated by the athlete. They shall be placed so that they are easily accessible to, or may be put by authorised persons into the hands of, the athletes. Refreshments provided by the athletes shall be kept under the supervision of officials designated by the Organising Committee from the time that the refreshments are lodged by the athletes or their representatives.

(e) An athlete who collects refreshment from a place other than the refreshment stations renders himself liable to disqualification.

Isn't a coach banned from handing their athletes anything on a course?

Whatever is distributed at Aid-Stations always has to be approved beforehand. In past WCs and Olympics, runners have had towels, sponges, etc. distributed to them.

As far as Rupp's hats go:

1) Yes, they were probably drier hats.

2) There is a good chance they were cooled, although I don't think anyone saw anything to confirm it.

If someone actually wants to protest this, they're more pitiful than the French protesting Kemboi.

BS wrote:

Sorry your conspiracy theory will not hold up.....

It\'s a question looking for transparency and disclosure. This is an Olympic marathon. What is allowable and what isn\'t when it comes to water stations? Is this an example of Salazar bending rules?

The aerotape used at the US OLY Trials was deemed illegal in the Olympics, FYI. Again, transparency and disclosure.

People can find the complete rule book here:

The most relevant part is what is quoted above. I also read all the rules specifically regarding road races as well as the rules pertaining to apparel, and there is nothing that talks about receiving clothing during a race. Since the practice is not specifically prohibited, and because Rupp and his team followed the rules if you count a fresh cap as "refreshment", it appears that there is no ground for disqualification.

That's correct, sponges have always been sanctioned. To my knowledge swapping running gear is illegal. Athletes cannot received new hats, new gloves, warmer gloves, hand warmers, new dry hats, or any other running gear they didn't line up with.

Mel Gibson and son wrote:

BS wrote:

Sorry your conspiracy theory will not hold up.....

Is this an example of Salazar bending rules.

No, but this thread is text book example of Lets Run trolling!

Free for all then? wrote:

Seyta wrote:

Whatever is distributed at Aid-Stations always has to be approved beforehand. In past WCs and Olympics, runners have had towels, sponges, etc. distributed to them.

As far as Rupp's hats go:

1) Yes, they were probably drier hats.

2) There is a good chance they were cooled, although I don't think anyone saw anything to confirm it.

If someone actually wants to protest this, they're more pitiful than the French protesting Kemboi.

That's correct, sponges have always been sanctioned. To my knowledge swapping running gear is illegal. Athletes cannot received new hats, new gloves, warmer gloves, hand warmers, new dry hats, or any other running gear they didn't line up with.

Why? Bike races get new tires... Runners can't get a hat? Anyone who thinks this matters is an idiot.

Rupp is a mad hatter.

Correct. The language defines "refreshment" as follows:

Free for all then? wrote:

Seyta wrote:

Whatever is distributed at Aid-Stations always has to be approved beforehand. In past WCs and Olympics, runners have had towels, sponges, etc. distributed to them.

As far as Rupp's hats go:

1) Yes, they were probably drier hats.

2) There is a good chance they were cooled, although I don't think anyone saw anything to confirm it.

If someone actually wants to protest this, they're more pitiful than the French protesting Kemboi.

That's correct, sponges have always been sanctioned. To my knowledge swapping running gear is illegal. Athletes cannot received new hats, new gloves, warmer gloves, hand warmers, new dry hats, or any other running gear they didn't line up with.

Yes they can. The reason I say that is that nothing has actually occurred. The marathon lasted 2 hours, and during it, Rupp obtained at least 4 new hats. The officials thus far have DQ'd immediately for the most random infringements. If it actually violated any rules, they'd have DQ'd him before the race was even finished.

Since he hasn't been DQ'd, they're all probably aware that no rules are violated, and haven't bothered making a statement about it because they're also aware that no one in the right mind would dwell over something like this.

For all those who claim "conspiracy" and "payoff". Do you really think the IOC would bother orchestrating a "coverup" for a bronze medalist from the US who has zero social media presence and is nearly unknown outside of the website?

refreshments : drinks and small amounts of food

Clothing items do not qualify as refreshments, or as "any other item" in the same sentence from (c).

Kipchoge wore one hat. He chucked that hat and ran hatless when he deemed that hat was no longer needed. At no stage did the gold medalist exchange or swap hats.

Free for all then? wrote:

Seyta wrote:

Whatever is distributed at Aid-Stations always has to be approved beforehand. In past WCs and Olympics, runners have had towels, sponges, etc. distributed to them.

As far as Rupp's hats go:

1) Yes, they were probably drier hats.

2) There is a good chance they were cooled, although I don't think anyone saw anything to confirm it.

If someone actually wants to protest this, they're more pitiful than the French protesting Kemboi.

That's correct, sponges have always been sanctioned. To my knowledge swapping running gear is illegal. Athletes cannot received new hats, new gloves, warmer gloves, hand warmers, new dry hats, or any other running gear they didn't line up with.

Your knowledge is incorrect based on the information cited in this thread. A new hat could be considered a refreshment. No rules were broken. There is no grounds for a DQ. End of thread.

Coe's forward in the IAAF COMPETITION RULES 2016-2017

As a former athlete i’m the first to understand that these rules are the

bedrock of everything that an athlete or official does in the competition

environment. Athletics like all sports is defined by its rules. they provide

standardised boundaries for each event discipline and, in turn, clarity and

understanding about the decisions taken for the entire athletics family

including media and fans.

the iAAF Competition Rules control everything from athletes’ eligibility

to compete to what clothing can be worn, from anti-doping to medical

matters, from lane markings to runways, from take-off boards to wind

measurements.

Oblivion wrote:

A new hat could be considered a refreshment. No rules were broken.

Ummm, a hat is NOT a refreshment within the context of the sentence describing refreshments in the rule.

Regardless of the rules, Rupp showed once again that he is a spoiled brat.