Breaking: An Absolute Travesty! USATF WILL NOT honor top 3 finish at US Olympic Trials unless you have the standard!!!

wineturtle wrote:

Answer me this

If the first three across the line do not have THE AUTOMATIC TIME STANDARD FOR THE OGS but are offered an OG entry because their position in the rankings is high enough the USATF will decline those invitations?

Yes. Please read the article. That is exactly what we are saying. USATF will decline the invitations and instead go with the first three athletes at the Trials with the standard -- even if they're 7th, 8th, and 9th.

And props to you guys for black paging Susan Hazzard’s email... that should help everyone process this dumpster fire. I will shut up now before I frustration post in this thread all night. Awesome work brojos and the letsrun staff!

Good!

It’s about time our top guys need to step up.

rojo wrote:

Why the IAAF won't let us send any three that we want if we are already sending three is beyond me.

This is clearly revenge for sending Dathan Ritzenhein in 04’ after he finished in last place at the trials but was the third finisher with the standard. I guess it’s just our time.

They made the U.S. Olympic trials more irrelevant, especially for the men's side, as it'll be in Atlanta. We may be sending one or two men to the Olympics, not three.

Berlin or Rotterdam or any flat course is going to matter more, and it also undermines the whole reasoning for the IAAF making the standard more difficult—to encourage more racing and to build up ranking. Every American running London soon is going to chase the standard—forget about racing and trying to go for a win or top 10. It's just about 2:11 and 2:29. The year before the Olympics is just going to be a snoozefest. And too bad for anyone who has an injury this year to try and save up their reserves and recover for the trials.

^^I mean the marathon trials.

After re-reading, I would have to run the Trials because I’d have to be a ‘finisher’. Given recent history, this means if there are only 1,2, or 3 guys with the standard (pretty decent chance this could happen) they could just jog 3 hours together because all they have to do is finish since no one else would be eligible. In this case would they change the Name of the Race from ‘Olympic Trials’ to ‘2020 National Championships’ since it would have absolutely ZERO impact on Olympic team selections?

This isn’t even theoretical- at this point it’s actually the most likely scenario for the Men’s marathon.

thissucks wrote:

They made the U.S. Olympic trials more irrelevant, especially for the men's side, as it'll be in Atlanta. We may be sending one or two men to the Olympics, not three.

Berlin or Rotterdam or any flat course is going to matter more, and it also undermines the whole reasoning for the IAAF making the standard more difficult—to encourage more racing and to build up ranking. Every American running London soon is going to chase the standard—forget about racing and trying to go for a win or top 10. It's just about 2:11 and 2:29. The year before the Olympics is just going to be a snoozefest. And too bad for anyone who has an injury this year to try and save up their reserves and recover for the trials.

Is it the IAAF's fault that 2:11 Marathon is a Herculean task for U.S. men? Are 10.50 100m men in Ethiopia crying about how difficult it is for them to make it to 2020 Olympics?

It’s so sad. For the people that barely qualify for the marathon trails will mean nothing now. That’s thr exciting part because it gives people hope that maybe they have a shot at making the team. They know they won’t make it but that tiny bit of hope is what makes people chasing the trials time so of the most exciting races across the country. Your amateurs will have nothing to push for No hope. That crushes the Olympic spirit for every not sponser athlete

No, it's USTAF's fault. The IAAF offered two ways to qualify, and the USTAF slammed the door shut on one of those ways. The timing of the IAAF is undermining though. The USTAF would not have picked Atlanta for the trials if they knew in advance that the standard was going to be 2:11.

With limitations set by both these entities, runners need more notice, especially for the marathon. Many probably weren't planning on a running a fall race if they're running in February and then in August if they make the team. Where is someone supposed to meet the standard for the 10,000m? Not at the Diamond League. At least for the shorter events, you get more chances though.

then get out.

Maybe America will finally turn out some 1980 type of marathoners again.

I love this.

Rojo is not entirely correct. But then again, that’s not a surprise.

You ignored half of my question. Are you feeling sorry for Ethiopian 100m sprinters and their quest to Olympic Qualify? Turn the argument to Ethiopian 100m sprinters. Once you now have to defend Ethiopian 100m sprinters, your argument looks weak and whiny.

well done wojo, maybe you are getting into your head, the chronic depths of dysfunction and disconnection that these groups like the IAAF, OG committee, mass media actually embody??? probably not. but you're getting there.

time for you to amalgamate the forces of good, allies, which are free enterprise and some kind of intelligence and good will against these crony defunct enterprises.

if people like you don't stand up. it's over. it's been over for quite a while not. but right not it's especially over.

I hate to break it to you guys, and I'm amazed that no one spoke about it.

Time standard IS important for anti doping. Not having time standard, racing well in key races and not being able to hit highscholl times in off season is a staple behaviour of a smart doper.

It is only possible to get a standard in a race, but you'll be tested. The more often you race, the harder it is to time your Micro doping cycles. And you have to race more often to peak for a time trial AND a selection race.

Normally as a doper you sit out long Base periods and reap all the Juice benifits. And after that you race. And yeah, don’t even start bulshitting about OOC testing. It's not even close to being wide spread, contrary to what Wada would make you belive.

thissucks wrote:

They made the U.S. Olympic trials more irrelevant, especially for the men's side, as it'll be in Atlanta. We may be sending one or two men to the Olympics, not three.

Berlin or Rotterdam or any flat course is going to matter more, and it also undermines the whole reasoning for the IAAF making the standard more difficult—to encourage more racing and to build up ranking. Every American running London soon is going to chase the standard—forget about racing and trying to go for a win or top 10. It's just about 2:11 and 2:29. The year before the Olympics is just going to be a snoozefest. And too bad for anyone who has an injury this year to try and save up their reserves and recover for the trials.

We'll definitely have 3. There's usually 5 or 6 Americans in the top 10 at Boston and NYC so they will be automatically qualified. It still sucks though. The Trials is a joke if they send the 9th place finisher in the 1500 to the Olympics or only send 2 in an event even though the top 3 are qualified to compete via IAAF rankings which is what's likely to happen if they don't fix this.

No, you are the one off. Even though we put this up at like 10 pm on a Friday, it has TAKEN OFF, going crazy on twitter. I wasn't the one hyping this up. Jon Gault called me at like 6 pm and said check your email, you aren't going to believe it. I had to feed the baby, put him to bed, etc. All I did was come back and put in a few quick takes.

This KILLS a lot of the Trials. ANd it just pisses me off as it reminds me the people in charge don't know how to market the sport. They don't get the beauty of top 3 and in is VERY powerful in this country.

It's almost 1:30 in the morning and I can't believe how many people are reading this article.

No. Because the people who are top 10 at some watered down major or a major where all the Africans drop out will have the standard. There will be 3 men with it. But most of the competitors shouldn't show up.

I thought you said USATF was saying you had to hit the TIME standard. I thought that was the whole point of this uproar.

Flagons ff wrote:

I think focusing so much on Rupp or Chelimo not making it under the new rules really overlooks the fact that...they ran under the old rules!

.

I guess you are not aware that Chelimo is pissed about the developments.

I love how people think we are overreacting when the Olympic silver medallist tweeted this out earlier in the week.

It's just stupid. The US is going to send 3 in the 5000. Everyone knows that. So let us send the 3 who we want - meaning the top 3 at the Trials. It's so much more exciting.

Who's fault? wrote:

You ignored half of my question. Are you feeling sorry for Ethiopian 100m sprinters and their quest to Olympic Qualify? Turn the argument to Ethiopian 100m sprinters. Once you now have to defend Ethiopian 100m sprinters, your argument looks weak and whiny.

We don't know how they will select their team. They can use time standard AND world ranking. The Ethiopian situation is not the same as what USTAF just decided, which puts us in the same boat as the UK and Canada, last Olympic cycle, where they had more stringent standards than the IAAF standards and just chose to undermine themselves and not send everyone they could.

I do feel for East Africans in that they could be ranked 8th in the world and still not go to the Olympics, whereas No. 95 could well be the 2nd person for their country to go. But Olympics is top 3 and representing nations is the whole point of the Olympics.