WC 50km opened to women

[Powell]

Time to move on.

I'll quote that next time you start b*tching about a decision made by the IAAF

[aaronk]

Never been an official coach--but I did sort of guide some people along---especially as beginning runners.

My main mantra was that the most difficult part of becoming a distance runner was the move from zero to 5 miles!
Once you got through the beginner's aches & pains (physically & mentally), the moves from 5 to 10 (miles), or from 10 to 20, or from 10 miles to the marathon---would be a piece of cake--the only "barrier" being the chunk of time it took to complete your daily runs.

What does this have to do with this thread?

For Walkers, the most difficult part is the move from zero to 5K!
Once you can Walk 5K comfortably, the moves from 5 to 10K, or from 10 to 20K, or from 20 to 50K is evermore easier!!

In other words, if we want a strong viable field of entrants in the 50K Walk for Women, we first have to build an army of 5K'ers & 10K'ers, then 20K'ers----who might be willing to, or want, to move up to the 50!

Just as the Men have over the years!
Many 20K guys have successfully done the 50K!

Given time---and the opportunities---it can be the same for Women!!

But any interference from USATF or IAAF or the USOC or IOC---is counter-productive!!
And will lead to what happened in London last year---the KIDNAPPING of 2 Women off the course because their eventual PR's were going to miss the cut-off point by a few measly minutes!!

Why would any woman want to sacrifice the 100's & 1000's of hours it takes to train for the 50K----if they know that their efforts would go for naught, as they did for those 2 victims in London??
That must NEVER happen again!!!

NO EXCUSES, KIDNAPPERS!!!!

[polevaultpower]

It wasn't the way they added women's steeplechase, or PV and HT before that, or TJ a few years earlier, or any other event for that matter.

But we hit a roadblock with Women's Decathlon and 50k RW. The path that worked for those other events has not worked for these events, and if women are ever going to get the opportunity to participate in them, a different path must be taken.

[MJR]

No, it wasn't, but in this case it was. Time to move on.

[Powell]

Sometimes that's the only way to get things done.

It wasn't the way they added women's steeplechase, or PV and HT before that, or TJ a few years earlier, or any other event for that matter.

[polevaultpower]

Also, I believe in the past whenever a new event was added to the championship program, the decision was made a couple of years in advance. It just makes sense to do it this way. So, while I support the addition in principle, I just don't understand the haste. It will only make for championship races which are not of proper championship standard.

Sometimes that's the only way to get things done. The IAAF/track bodies have had decades to set up a proper time table for including the event and they did not. So if the first few events are a little thin on quality performances, so be it. You have to start somewhere.

Coe could have made this a priority when he took over and he did not.

[MJR]

Which is exactly the way Damilano wants it. He is hoping that this experiment fails and is setting things up to assure that is the only outcome. Kind of how USATF treats the whole discipline, top to bottom.

[Powell]

Women's 50k walk has now been added to the program of the 2018 Euro Champs. A little more sensible than the whole WC farce, but I still think 8 months is not nearly enough of an advance warning. Among men, a lot of athletes go for qualifying in the year preceding the championships and they don't compete over the distance during the year. The women won't have that option.

Also, I believe in the past whenever a new event was added to the championship program, the decision was made a couple of years in advance. It just makes sense to do it this way. So, while I support the addition in principle, I just don't understand the haste. It will only make for championship races which are not of proper championship standard.

[Halfmiler2]

Particularly having the competition at the same time as the Men makes it easy logistically.

It is good to get it off the ground even at the last minute and work then to make it better in 2019.

[polevaultpower]

Yes, they would have lost. Should have listened to just about everyone involved when they let Taylor-Talcott race last year and create a standard and qual period, but Damilano only listens to himself and needs to be removed from his position, finally.

Yes, this.

I can understand if the IAAF wanted to play dumb and claim that women just didn't want to participate in the event, but over the past year and some change, that has been challenged. They can't use that excuse anymore. And it's not like the multis where they can pretend there is an equivalent alternative event... it's not like the women had the option of the 35k RW or something.

Everything about this from the IAAF has been petty af. Council members like Bubka have the nerve to take shots at the IOC for not being progressive enough, when this nonsense is going on in their backyard.

I mean that's the thing... yes, this event will be a joke this year. But it's not a joke because a handful of race walkers got in a legal challenge in at the last moment, it's a joke because the IAAF ignored the writing on the wall last year, when there would have been enough time to allow athletes to begin training properly for this event. And it's an even bigger joke because the IAAF is dragging their feet every step of the way and refusing to take even the tiniest of baby steps that could make the event better this year.

And FFS, it's not like it was some serious logistical challenge. The event is already being contested and it's not that hard to add women to the same course as the men.

[MJR]

Does that mean no CAS court case??

Yes, they would have lost. Should have listened to just about everyone involved when they let Taylor-Talcott race last year and create a standard and qual period, but Damilano only listens to himself and needs to be removed from his position, finally.

[Tuariki]

Does that mean no CAS court case??

[tandfman]

So we had five with the standard, plus two area champions? The list of six did not include Randall, is #6 the other area champion?

The latest list now shows 7, including Randall.

[mal]

that's already part of the protocol. If you haven't started the last loop by x time (too lazy to look it up), too bad, cuz they'll be closing the course.

Not too lazy, just don't care. Don't care one iota for walking events. John Cleese is the best walker I have ever seen.

Just ring the bell, pull out the big hook. Not every rule deserves google. Including yours.

[18.99s]

It's time to remove racewalking from the IAAF and have it be its own separate sport. The IAAF doesn't really want it, and the racewalkers probably don't like being under the IAAF either.