Americans with Olympic "A" standard

[dl]

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/tfn/di ... jsp?id=255

I hate to detract from what is truly one of the best meets in the world, but one important aspect of the Trials will be who has the Olympic "A" standard going in, since there will be little or no chance to get a qualifier after Sacramento.

[lefterisp]

Re: Americans with Olympic

The list will probably get bigger. It is amazing how many men have the mark in the 200m. I suggest just a day before the trials a little something (like a plaque) to be given to all those great men and women recognizing the fact that they are all winners (like the Oscars!). They could all, after all, have been Olympians if it wasn’t for the silly 3 per event rule.

[dl]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Keep in mind that more 100 runners are accepted into the Games than 10K runners, so some events are "easier" to qualify for than others.

[tafnut]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Seriously, why the F do we have so much problem with the HT and JT?! Yes, they are both technical events, but it's not like the USA has no technical resources. And we certainly have enough leftover football players to go 1-2-3 in any strength oriented events. C'mon now!

[Realist]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Wow. I now see what you mean about "detracting" from the meet. I think we are all used to things like the women's shot only having a single qualifier but has the IAAF ramped up the Q standards mightily or what? A longtime US stronghold like the men's long jump has only six people eligible for the olympic at this point? And two of them were badly hurt last year and don't have the mark this year? There's nothing wrong with four people fighting for three spots but it's not quite the same as it used to was is it?

[15mph]

Re: Americans with Olympic

It is strange looking at all the sprinters with the A standard and then seeing just two 1500 meters runners with the standard. In fact there are more American's with the A standard in the 100 than all the distance events combined.

Before we can talk about Olympic medals in the distance events first the US has to get 3 runners achieving the A standard in their respective events.

Lets hope the Home Depot 1500 tomorrow does not feature the usual 3:38-3:40 performances. Will we have another summer of US runners chasing the Olympic standards in Europe?

Prediction

Lunn (Time range 3:37-3:39.55)
Webb
Berryhill

Lunn will probably push the pace under 3:40.
Lunn's 3:38 several weeks ago was a good sign. He will now have a top field to push him.

BTW, Krummenacker will probably not run the 1500 at the trials. So in reality only Robison has the A standard.

[tandfman]

Re: Americans with Olympic

>The list will probably get bigger. It is amazing how many men have the mark in the 200m. I suggest just a day before the trials a little something (like a plaque) to be given to all those great men and women recognizing the fact that they are all winners (like the Oscars!). They could all, after all, have been Olympians if it wasn’t for the silly 3 per event rule.<

Faulty reasoning. If there were no 3-per-event rule, the standards would have to be tighter to get a field of the desired size.

[MJR]

Re: Americans with Olympic

>Seriously, why the F do we have so much problem with the HT and JT?!

The problem lies entirely with the NFHS and individual State Feds that refuse to contest these events in their programs. The RW has the same problem. You cannot develop depth and exceptional talent in anything requiring specific fundamental technique unless you can start to teach it athletes before they reach 15 years of age. Our ability to learn new skills drops significantly after this age.

We have a very limited pool of talent in all 3 of these events because kids get no chance to compete in them, all because some people who "have the best interests of the kids" are making decisions based upon their own ignorance. When people stop competing in them once they go to college, we lose even more talent.

[kuha]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Yes folks, this is the ugly reality of that "wonderful" meet you've all been eagerly waiting for. Surprise, surprise! In a goodly number of the events, the actual competition WON'T MATTER! It's that simple. All you who will pay money to attend this non-event, have a nice (ten) days!

[Pego]

Re: Americans with Olympic

<Yes folks, this is the ugly reality of that "wonderful" meet you've all been eagerly waiting for. Surprise, surprise! In a goodly number of the events, the actual competition WON'T MATTER! It's that simple. All you who will pay money to attend this non-event, have a nice (ten) days!>

I've got no idea what are you saying, Kuha (besides, of course, lambasting the OGs :-) ).
What won't matter?

[hj197steve]

Re: Americans with Olympic

kuha, calm down... maybe one of your critics I right about you !

[Realist]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Kuha is lamenting (and rightly so) THE LOSS OF an OT that lasts a few days, each of them packed with action, and doesn't cost more than gas.

(edited to insert the caps--my original meaning was unclear)

[tandfman]

Re: Americans with Olympic

I think Kuha may be suggesting that in several popular events, we have only two or three A qualifiers, which means that they will go to the Games no matter where they finish (assuming they do compete). If nobody else gets an A, those two or three will be our team. In those events, the Trials competition itself will not be as meaningful as in the sprints, for example, where every finalist is likely to be an A qualifier.

I would remind Kuha that there could be at least a few more qualifiers before July. And a few more in each event would be all that you'd need to make things very interesting.

[kuha]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Yes, tandfman, that's exactly what I was attempting to point out. For all the talk about how exciting multiple rounds are and close finishes, etc., the truth is that--in a few key events at least--the results of the OT races may have little bearing on who goes to the Games. This was typically not the case in past decades, but seems to be increasingly the case now. It's shocking, for example, that only two Americans have beaten 1:46 in the last year.

[Conor Dary]

Re: Americans with Olympic

Kuha is of course right. The real 'tragedy' is with all the rounds in the 800, 1500, etc the possibility of getting an A standard at Sacramento is pretty remote. Why not have a 5 day Trials with just a straight final in the distance races? Everyone would be rested for the final and the chance of a fast race would be far more feasible. Something, by the way, rarely seen in this country!