"B Finals" in track and field

[Vault-emort]

Snipped from the post about US 100H strength as it's a whole new topic:

Has there ever been any talk of a 'B' final at the WC? I know, it would make the meet much too long and boring.

I don't think I've ever heard of the notion in major champs before, although swimming used to do it in the Olympics, when they removed the semi-final stage from their shorter races.

I'm not sure if it would make a track championships too long or boring, but who would bother really? Many athletes would have other events and relays to save themselves for.

Are you talking about B finals for those who miss the final or a second event for athletes who can't make their national teams in the main event?

[tandfman]

Aren't the World Championships and Olympics long enough? I think so.

[gh]

You're, let's say, LaShawn Merritt, and your blocks slipped in the WC quarterfinals and they didn't give you a call back, so you had to run your ass off just to squeek into the semis, but your time was so slow you're in the bad half of the draw, you get lane 1 and you don't make the final.

A week after Osaka you've got a Golden League payday coming up, with your pay dependent on place. Are you gonna run a meaningless race in Japan or start getting ready for your next cheque?

[gh]

They could have had a heckuva B final in the 100 at Carson yesterday. Guys who didn't make the final:

Maurice Greene
Bernard Williams
Marcus Brunson
Leonard Scott
Trell Kimmons
Marc Burns
J.J. Johnson
Wes Felix
Josh Norman

Burns, Brunson & Scott all ranked in top 10 in World last year.

[AS]

They could have had a heckuva B final in the 100 at Carson yesterday. Guys who didn't make the final:

Maurice Greene
Bernard Williams
Marcus Brunson
Leonard Scott
Trell Kimmons
Marc Burns
J.J. Johnson
Wes Felix
Josh Norman

Burns, Brunson & Scott all ranked in top 10 in World last year.

But all out of form outdoor this year...

[eldrick]

B finals were pretty interesting in swimming ( but that's a sport where time really is king ! )

i do remember one where a B final winner beat the winning time of the main race ( don't think it was a wr ) - someone will have to remind us

perhaps, one possibility for athletics is to hold a B final a few minutes before the A & the gold goes to whoever has the best/fastest performance overall of the 2

( it's a joke, but it does mean that races of 800m & above woud have an honest pace ! )

[eldrick]

Burns, Brunson & Scott all ranked in top 10 in World last year.

But all out of form outdoor this year...

i woudn't rule out brunson until season end, unless a story pops up that he got injured after indoor season

[nctrackfan]

B finals were pretty interesting in swimming ( but that's a sport where time really is king ! )

i do remember one where a B final winner beat the winning time of the main race ( don't think it was a wr ) - someone will have to remind us

perhaps, one possibility for athletics is to hold a B final a few minutes before the A & the gold goes to whoever has the best/fastest performance overall of the 2

( it's a joke, but it does mean that races of 800m & above woud have an honest pace ! )

In the men's 400m Free consolation round in 1984, a West German guy, Thomas Fahrner, broke the WR in that event. I think he was trying to coast his way through the prelims.

[Vault-emort]

B finals were pretty interesting in swimming ( but that's a sport where time really is king ! )

i do remember one where a B final winner beat the winning time of the main race ( don't think it was a wr ) - someone will have to remind us

B finals in swimming were known as 'banana finals' cos most of the swimmers didn't really care. They were mainly added when the removal of semi-finals shortened the programme significantly.

I think the B final result you're talking about was the men's 400 freestyle in LA 84. Di Carlo rings a bell?* There were a few other incidents of the banana winners beating the times of A-final medallists, but the B race got you nothing except dubious bragging rights.

* You're right. It was Fahrner. Di Carlo took the gold.

[eldrick]

In the men's 400m Free consolation round in 1984, a West German guy, Thomas Fahrner, broke the WR in that event. I think he was trying to coast his way through the prelims.

he didn't break the wr

salnikov set the wr in '83 with 3'48.32 & gross beat it in '85 with 3'47.80

[nctrackfan]

In the men's 400m Free consolation round in 1984, a West German guy, Thomas Fahrner, broke the WR in that event. I think he was trying to coast his way through the prelims.

he didn't break the wr

salnikov set the wr in '83 with 3'48.32 & gross beat it in '85 with 3'47.80

You're right. It's been 23 years since I've seen that race (or at least the replay), and at the time I thought he had broke the WR, but he just put in a faster time than the gold medalist.

[eldrick]

In the men's 400m Free consolation round in 1984, a West German guy, Thomas Fahrner, broke the WR in that event. I think he was trying to coast his way through the prelims.

he didn't break the wr

salnikov set the wr in '83 with 3'48.32 & gross beat it in '85 with 3'47.80

You're right. It's been 23 years since I've seen that race (or at least the replay), and at the time I thought he had broke the WR, but he just put in a faster time than the gold medalist.

it woud take a helluva lot to interpose yourself betwen 2 legends like salnikov & gross !

( although, i now suspect phelps will remove even thorpe's current 400 wr !!! )

[gh]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the NCAA's brief flirtation with a B-final system.

Can anybody remember the name of the only guy ever to run the fastest time in the meet (in the finals) and only be awarded 9th place?

[tandfman]

I once knew that, but there's no way I could ever dredge it up from my memory. I think it happened in Provo, but that's as much as I can recall. (And I may not even be right about that.)

[Powell]

They do run B finals in sprint events at Polish national championships. I think there are a few other European countries that do the same thing (I believe France is one of them)