Why Is It Pending?

[Double R Bar]

Excuse me if this has already been covered, but why is Deena Drossin's American record 10,000 (30:50.32) still pending? I saw her run that at Stanford in May of 2002! I can't understand why this run would still be pending after six years. It's ridiculous. If the conditions are ok, the record should be ratified immediately.

Can you imagine if Shalane Flanagan's mark from last night (Sunday) wasn't ratified for another six years? Something's wrong here.

[Bob H]

That 2002 record is still pending because USATF never got a record application. It occasionally happens that applications are not forthcoming, and that even follow-up inquiries of the meet management and/or the local USATF Assocation cannot produce the necessary paperwork for a proper ratification.

I am hoping that this will not be the case with Flanagan's record. I spoke this afternoon with someone at Stanford and was told that an application was filled out and forwarded. I expect that everything will be in order, and that the record will be ratified in due course at the USATF Annual Meeting in December (which is the only time USATF officially ratifies records).

[polevaultpower]

Same thing happened with Jeff Hartwig's indoor pole vault record. No one ever tells the athletes that they need to apply for it to be ratified, and sometimes no one else ever does it.

[AS]

If the athlete doesn't care enough then maybe they don't deserve the ratification (please note the sarcasm)

[Double R Bar]

Thanks Bob. Sounds as if Stanford and/or the northern California association made a big mistake in 2002. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.