2008 USA Oly Team Selections

[DrJay]

I can understand AA going if Trials finish is BAABBBBB, to maximize the number going to the OG. But if the Trials finish is BABBBBBB, doesn't sending A fly in the face of our longstanding Trials philosophy of you win, you go? I would send the B winner. Am I correct in recalling or assuming there will be no chasing all over creation for an "A" mark by B types after the Trials?

[Chrome Dome]

Indoor marks are accepted as Olympic qualifiers.

Thanks Tandfman.

[Chrome Dome]

I can understand AA going if Trials finish is BAABBBBB, to maximize the number going to the OG. But if the Trials finish is BABBBBBB, doesn't sending A fly in the face of our longstanding Trials philosophy of you win, you go? I would send the B winner. Am I correct in recalling or assuming there will be no chasing all over creation for an "A" mark by B types after the Trials?

My understanding is the A goes, and if any of the B's make the A standard after the trials, then they go in the order of finish at the trials.

So yes, there could be a safari for selection qualifiers soon after.

[gh]

I can understand AA going if Trials finish is BAABBBBB, to maximize the number going to the OG. But if the Trials finish is BABBBBBB, doesn't sending A fly in the face of our longstanding Trials philosophy of you win, you go? I would send the B winner. Am I correct in recalling or assuming there will be no chasing all over creation for an "A" mark by B types after the Trials?

I don't recall having seen what protocol will be used next year. There's never any guarantee it's going to stay the same from one selection meet to the next. Recall that there was virtually no chasing in '04 because of the exceedingly tight window between OT/OG. (last day of OT 7/18, first day of OG 8/18; this time it's 7/06 and 8/15)

[Chrome Dome]

Dr Jay

I believe there will be very few events with less than 3 qualifiers after the Trials - maybe men's HT, women's JT & TJ. So the safari might be , in fact, very small.

[gh]

It's not the number of A qualifiers that counts (to begin with); it's where they finished, and how long a window (if any), high-finishing B people will get to chase the A's before being displaced by those who already have them. A horrid waste of time and resources in my book.

[KevinM]

How is a "B" athlete going to Europe after the national championships to chase PRs 1) any different than what they would/should be doing anyway, and 2) a "horrid waste of time and resources"?

[mt]

I believe each event final at the Trials is the last chance to attain an OG qualifying mark for US athletes - so no last minute chasing of marks. On the USATF list of Olympic qualifying standards, July 6 is shown as the last day of the qualifying window (as opposed to the IAAF's date of July 23).

[Chrome Dome]

IMHO the main objective sb to qualify as many as possible for the Games. So why not utilize the full window to July 23?

The answer, maybe, is that it makes it tough for those who qualify only if no one ahead of them can make the standard. But that's the price you pay by finishing behind (them) at the Trials.

[tafnut]

the linked document above says:

The top Ranked Order Finishers as defined in D- 1 (maximum of 3) who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard (see exception in item (b) below) by the end of their event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials

so that means NO CHASING. The only thing left to address is the BABBBB... finish, which only makes sense that if only one is going, it be the winner.

[15mph]

A standard

the linked document above says:

The top Ranked Order Finishers as defined in D- 1 (maximum of 3) who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard (see exception in item (b) below) by the end of their event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials

so that means NO CHASING. The only thing left to address is the BABBBB... finish, which only makes sense that if only one is going, it be the winner.

It looks as if all the US distance runners will have the A standard.

[tandfman]

I can understand AA going if Trials finish is BAABBBBB, to maximize the number going to the OG. But if the Trials finish is BABBBBBB, doesn't sending A fly in the face of our longstanding Trials philosophy of you win, you go? I would send the B winner. Am I correct in recalling or assuming there will be no chasing all over creation for an "A" mark by B types after the Trials?

It's my understanding that if there is only one A qualifier competing in the Trials, then we send only one individual, and that is the one with either an A or a B who finishes the highest in the Trials. If there are two or more A qualifiers, we send them, in the order of their finish at the Trials (which could conceivably mean we send people who do not finish in the top 8 in the Trials).

As other have pointed out, there is no chasing next year.

[Chrome Dome]

Given what has been said in this thread by those more knowledgable than I, since there are only, as of now according to Tafnut's lists on page 1, only 3 events - men's HT, women's JT and women's HJ - with less than 2 qualifers, it should be relatively simple, thank God.

[rasb]

No, it won't be that simple, thank goodness.
There will be several 2007 A qualifiers who won't be ready to go in 2008, and many who will rise to the A task in 2008.

[tandfman]

There will be several 2007 A qualifiers who won't be ready to go in 2008.

Moreover, the qualifying periods are not the same. The Olympic qualifying period began September 1, 2006, in the walks and the combined events, but the US Trials period began January 1, 2007. Moreover, indoor marks during the entire qualifying period are acceptable for the Olympics, but not for the US Trials, which limit indoor qualifying marks to those performed in the 2008 season.