Why USATF is Corrupt

Mike Corn?

hyteck meet manager wrote:

Goucher is in because he was already in the meet by virtue of having qualified in another event. If an athlete is already in the meet by being in the 100m and only has the "b" standard in the long jump then he may be added to the long jump ahead of some other "b" standard guys who are not in the meet. This is not corrupt. It is standard track meet management rules.

The OLYMPIC TRIALS is not your frickin' dumbed down standard track meet. USATF is making up their own rules here as they will always do when favors are asked amongst the high-rolling parties.

as already posted, this rule was phased out years ago (e.g., if you qualify in one event, you can also run another...like the next closest event. ex, run the 5, you get a free pass in the 15 or 10). that loophole has been long since closed, thus it is totally inapplicable to AG. USATF is screwing the hen here, plainand simple.

hyteck meet manager wrote: Goucher is in because he was already in the meet by virtue of having qualified in another event. If an athlete is already in the meet by being in the 100m and only has the "b" standard in the long jump then he may be added to the long jump ahead of some other "b" standard guys who are not in the meet. This is not corrupt. It is standard track meet management rules.

I think you must mean "how," not "why."

What is the status of entries? I say we look up Glen McMicken. He is the USATF email contact for the status of entries. Wejo you should post this on your frontpage like you did with the waterbottle scandal at the OT marathon.

Here is a runners world article on some coaches & athletes suing USTAF & USOC over the Goucher issue!

See the link.

http://tracktrials.runnersworld.com/2008/07/its-a-slow-day.html

Here is a runners world article on some coaches & athletes suing USTAF & USOC over the Goucher issue!

See the link.

http://tracktrials.runnersworld.com/2008/07/its-a-slow-day.html

Here is a runners world article on some coaches & athletes suing USTAF & USOC over the Goucher issue!

See the link.

http://tracktrials.runnersworld.com/2008/07/its-a-slow-day.html

well...... wrote:

We all know that of all the provisional qualifiers, Goucher and Ritzenhein are the only 2 with a legit shot at making the team, and they should be in the field. If I was #30 on the list, I would also think that this is not fair, but if you step outside and look at the big picture, which is trying to compose the best team that we can to send to the Olympics, then letting those 2 in is the right thing to do.

100% BULLCRAP. What, exactly, constitutes sufficient proof that either Goucher or Ritzenhein has, TODAY, a better shot at making the team than anyone with a faster seed time does?

I want to retract what I posted earlier. Reading some of the articles I can now see why there is outrage over the decision to allow Goucher in.

But here's the rub. Television, the media, thirst for stories. Track and Field is way down the list when it comes to coverage. If putting Adam Goucher into the field generates it then I understand the decision. The sport is suffering because because newspapers and television ignore it. The Gouchers as a couple generate positive attention for the sport. Although this apparent blunder by USATF may undo the good.

As a long-time fan, I'd rather see Goucher in the race than any of the other B standard qualifiers. He's a name in the sport. I'm not defending the USATF decision. But as a 30 plus year veteran of television, I see the reasoning behind it.

Jeremy Johnson is at Oregon right now and he probably won't be able to run. If you're going to allow Goucher in, I saw put in every runner that is in Oregon waiting to see if they got in or not up to Goucher. Seems like the fairest thing to do.

To all the posters in this thread about Goucher "deserving a spot" in the 10k ahead of other (faster) provisional qualifiers,

This is the OLYMPIC TRIALS - you have to place top 3 in your event with the Olympic "A" standard secured in order to qualify for the US OLYMPIC TEAM. If USATF can just throw people into races without even following their OWN rules, then why can't they disregard the entire Oly Trials process? Hell, Khadevis Robinson would probably run better at the Olympics, so we should probably put him in over Christian Smith. Right? I'm just trying to apply your same logic to the structure of the Trials.

For everyone who thinks Goucher "deserves a spot," I agree with you, he does deserve it - he's worked hard for years and years and has a wonderful fan base. Now he is in a position to score top dollars for a marketing campaign with his beautiful wife. But, SHOULD an exception be made? No. Screw you if you think USATF should be allowed to do whatever they want. This situation makes me sick, and so does your warped sense reality.

USATF being sued by coaches and athletes who have superior seed times won't generate much positive publicity for either the sport or the Gouchers. It'll look like Goucher is just playing along in a greased favoritism system, like Burfoot pointed out. If he has even an above-average sense of integrity and fair-play then Goucher needs to decline the spot in the race and lobby for runners who ran faster qualifying times to be included, instead.

exemption=redemption? wrote:

I want to see Goucher make it now, just to see the implosion that ensues.

I a weird way, I kind of agree with you. After hearing Goucher's comments after the 5k, and knowing that his wife Kara has already secured a spot, he'll never had more riding on a single performance than this again. He was given a mulligan in the 5k. He's put all his chips in, and I can't wait to see how he does. Grab your popcorn, sports fans!

Obama, learn how to read. My post points out that the attempt at positive publicity will be undone by the lawsuit.

BTW... suing to get in his over the top. What USATF did is wrong, but the only thing suing will do is put money in some lawyers pocket while draining the resources of USATF.

I wonder what Kara Goucher thinks about the situation? She is a honest and caring athlete, maybe she can talk to her husband about doing the morally right thing (relinquish his spot if faster qualifiers are not allowed in). Apparently, USATF doesn't have a clue.

Aside from exposing some corrupt practices and individuals, it's hard to see what good can come from permitting Adam in the race. Absent a good and impartial public justification for the decision, it would seem to diminish Adam, his coach, his training partners in the race (especially if there is the slightest hint of "team" tactics or pacing), and USATF. Has anyone even offered any justification for this decision, or are the people involved just trying to keep it below the radar?

By the way, I don't see how permitting a few faster qualifiers into the race overcomes the problem, which has more to do with improper favoritism than with wrongful exclusion from the race. Resetting the race standard to be "Adam Goucher plus all faster qualifiers" doesn't deal with the problem; it simply placates a few dissenters and cleans up some of the more glaring inequities inherent in the decision to expand the field to allow a particular individual to participate.

Goucher has sold his soul to the devil in that the Goucher of old would have competed to the best of his abilities in the 5000m and "earned" a spot on the team, tried to go for the win, and said "screw it" to the 13:21.50 standard. Just go out there and show everyone he deserves to be on the team.

Goucher is already torn with guilt over how the 5000m played out. He is a non-factor in the 10,000 meters.