The Women Pole Vaulters of the 2018 IAAF Indoor Championships

[ralmcg]

I have a copy of the provisional list of the athletes of women's pole vault at the 2018 IAAF Indoor Championships and a big story is that Jennifer Suhr, who only got third place at the USATF Indoor Championships in February 2018, is on the list. Here is the full list:

Katie Nageotte USA
Sandi Morris USA
Anzhelika Sidorova ANA
Ekaterini Stefanidi GRE
Jennifer Suhr USA
Nina Kennedy AUS
Ninon Guillon-Romarin FRA
Eliza McCartney NZL
Alysha Newman CAN
Olga Mullina ANA
Lisa Ryzih GER
Yarisley Silva CUB
Angelica Bengtsson SWE

As you can see, a lot of big names are slated to be there. Hopefully the competition will be good.

[polevaultpower]

Suhr is the US alternate, she won't be competing unless something happens to Morris or Nageotte in the next day or two.

[ralmcg]

Suhr is the US alternate, she won't be competing unless something happens to Morris or Nageotte in the next day or two.

From looking at the list it sure looks like Suhr is a regular competitor. I didn't see anything that shows her as an alternate.

[ATK]

From looking at the list it sure looks like Suhr is a regular competitor. I didn't see anything that shows her as an alternate.

That's always how the entries are listed for Worlds/Olympics by the IAAF. Here are the London 2017 entries which show 4 (sometimes 5 with DL winner) entries for the US (and probably other countries) in each event. As PVPpvp noted, just alternates in the event one of the qualified athletes pulls out ahead of the event.

http://cdn.letsrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/entries-by-event-and-seasons-best-iaaf-worl.pdf

[ralmcg]

That's always how the entries are listed for Worlds/Olympics by the IAAF. Here are the London 2017 entries which show 4 (sometimes 5 with DL winner) entries for the US (and probably other countries) in each event. As PVPpvp noted, just alternates in the event one of the qualified athletes pulls out ahead of the event.
http://cdn.letsrun.com/wp-content/up...-iaaf-worl.pdf

The lists should be clearer as to who is the regular competitor and who is the alternate.

[Powell]

The lists should be clearer as to who is the regular competitor and who is the alternate.

The national federation don't actually need to declare who the alternate is. They can just submit 3 names to the IAAF, and then decide who the two actual competitors are the day before the competition.

[ralmcg]

The national federation don't actually need to declare who the alternate is. They can just submit 3 names to the IAAF, and then decide who the two actual competitors are the day before the competition.

In other words, in theory, the USATF can replace Nageotte with Suhr. I don't think it will happen but what's to stop the USATF from doing it.

[tandfman]

In other words, in theory, the USATF can replace Nageotte with Suhr. I don't think it will happen but what's to stop the USATF from doing it.

What's to stop them from doing it is their own rules. The information that was provided to athletes made it clear that the order of finish in Albuquerque would be decisive, assuming that the athletes made the IAAF qualification standard.

[Powell]

Exactly. It's not going to happen unless Morris or Nageotte get hurt.

However, other federations may not have clear and objective rules for selection. With Ethiopian distance runners, you never know which 3 of the 4 (or 2 of the 3 in case of indoor champs) declared runners will be competing until the last moment. It's possible the federation officials watch them in training and make the decision depending on who looks the best in the last few days before the competition.

[ralmcg]

What's to stop them from doing it is their own rules. The information that was provided to athletes made it clear that the order of finish in Albuquerque would be decisive, assuming that the athletes made the IAAF qualification standard.

I'm glad that, even if they change the rules about selection today, it won't affect this year's indoor championships, since I believe that it would be a breach of contract since that rule would be interpreted as an agreement between athletes and USATF. Besides it wouldn't look good.