Breaking: An Absolute Travesty! USATF WILL NOT honor top 3 finish at US Olympic Trials unless you have the standard!!!

Why the IAAF won't let us send any three that we want if we are already sending three is beyond me. Why USATF wouldn't at least make the best of a difficult situation by honoring the world rankings is embarrassing and should result in people losing their jobs in my opinion if it's not reversed as it shows to me that highers up at USATF - at least one of them who makes more than a million a year have no idea what is so special about the US Olympic Trials. USATF honchos, read the following.

RUN FASTER

This is awesome!

Maybe it will inspire our top weak puzzy marathoners to stop only running Boston and NYC and mix it up on fast fair courses.

This isn’t the first time so don’t get your panties in a bundle.

Remember the chick marathoner Clark from Alaska?

I’m not certain this is a bad thing. This seems fine to me.

I think you’re exaggerating.

Hopefully this will make Americans great again at Fukuoka.

Blow it outta your asss wrote:

This is awesome!

Maybe it will inspire our top weak puzzy marathoners to stop only running Boston and NYC and mix it up on fast fair courses.

This isn’t the first time so don’t get your panties in a bundle.

Remember the chick marathoner Clark from Alaska?

No, it will do the opposite. It will encourage Americans to all run New York this fall and Chicago this fall and for those Americans to not try to run fast but rather try to make sure they simply get top 10. It also will encourage those races to totally water down their international fields as . So the black studs from Africa will get screwed over yet again.

It also might encourage Americans to find the most downhill courses.

I've deleted several posts asking if we are sure about what we wrote. Yes we are sure that USATF told us they will name a guy who didn't even make the final to the Olympic Team or a man who finished 3rd and is world ranked 19 but doesn't have the standard.

Olympic silver medallist Paul Chelimo is the #1 example of what we are talking about. His world ranking would have gotten him in 2016 but USATF wouldn't have sent him and we'd have lost out on a silver medal.

People are writing comments on here when they clearly haven't read the article. We spent hours on it and explain things in great detail.

If rojo is right about this, and I'm not sure he is, then the distance events at the Olympic trials are completely pointless for anyone who does not have the time standard. My family and I go watch the trials every 4 years. We definitely won't be going if only the people with the time standard are allowed to qualify.

another runner wrote:

If rojo is right about this, and I'm not sure he is, then the distance events at the Olympic trials are completely pointless for anyone who does not have the time standard. My family and I go watch the trials every 4 years. We definitely won't be going if only the people with the time standard are allowed to qualify.

When are the trials and when is the last day you can get the Olympic Standard?

If someone gets top 3 in say, the 5k at trials, but doesn't have the standard, can they chase the standard during the next few weeks and still be selected to go, or do they NEED the standard before trials?

another runner wrote:

If rojo is right about this, and I'm not sure he is, then the distance events at the Olympic trials are completely pointless for anyone who does not have the time standard. My family and I go watch the trials every 4 years. We definitely won't be going if only the people with the time standard are allowed to qualify.

Rojo is right.

In the statement USATF sent us, they used the phrase "Olympic Games qualifying standard." That means the Olympic standard. If they had meant "in position to be selected based on world ranking" that's what they would have said.

Also, the statement said that the selection procedure would be the same as it is for World Championships. And the current World Championship selection procedure is the top three finishers at the Trials with the standard.

Add by rojo: You CANNOT chase after the Trials. The only reason why USATF would do this is they want finality at the Trials but it kills of the excitement and understanding of the Trials to see Kyle Merber celebrating in 9th or 10th.

My question is what happens in the actual Olympics ?? Most countries cannot runna 2:11:30 in general. India is a country of millions of people and the NR is 2:12.. will they just exclude these countries that aren’t very good as they never ran a 2.11..?

Clarified wrote:

My question is what happens in the actual Olympics ?? Most countries cannot runna 2:11:30 in general. India is a country of millions of people and the NR is 2:12.. will they just exclude these countries that aren’t very good as they never ran a 2.11..?

Other countries can get in via world rank. USATF just refuses to do it.

That being said, they are reducing the Olympic marathon #s however from 155 for men and 156 for women to 80 each in Tokyo.

Jonathan Gault wrote:

another runner wrote:

If rojo is right about this, and I'm not sure he is, then the distance events at the Olympic trials are completely pointless for anyone who does not have the time standard. My family and I go watch the trials every 4 years. We definitely won't be going if only the people with the time standard are allowed to qualify.

Rojo is right.

In the statement USATF sent us, they used the phrase "Olympic Games qualifying standard." That means the Olympic standard. If they had meant "in position to be selected based on world ranking" that's what they would have said.

Also, the statement said that the selection procedure would be the same as it is for World Championships. And the current World Championship selection procedure is the top three finishers at the Trials with the standard.

The person responding to the email could have easily misspoke or not fully understood what they were talking about. The USATF isn't exactly the most on top of it organization.

If someone can’t run 13:13 and finish top 3 at the trials they have no business going to the Olympics.

This is what happened in 1996 with Ronnie Harris. He was third in the 5 in the trials. 13:44 or so. He had to run 13:28.00 to run at the Olympics. He ran 13:38.25 @ Hengelo and no faster. He missed running in the Olympics.

Run faster! wrote:

If someone can’t run 13:13 and finish top 3 at the trials they have no business going to the Olympics.

I'll repost what I have on the front page and what I just added to the #1 post up top.

This is one of the darkest days in history for US distance fans. We emailed USATF to make sure they would be honoring the IAAF world rankings so those top 3 at the Olympic Trials could go to the Olympics – they told us they would not. That means Olympic silver medallist Paul Chelimo wouldn’t have made the 2016 team, nor would Jared Ward and five others including Bernard Lagat who won the most thrilling race was the Trials. Some US Olympic Trials races may now be totally meaningless.

So by your criteria - Paul Chelimo - who won a silver medal doesn't deserve to be at the Olympics. Neither would three othe rUS distance men who all made the final - Bernard Lagat (the winner of the thrilling Trials race which was the best in Eugene and ended up 5th in 5000) Jared Ward (6th in marathon), Hillary Bor (7th in steeple), Ben Blankenship (8th in 1500).

Can someone please translate? The brojos have never been known for their writing skills, but as someone who is not that familiar with how qualifying works, this garbage writing is horribly confusing and makes zero sense.

Idiotic

another runner wrote:

Jonathan Gault wrote:

Rojo is right.

In the statement USATF sent us, they used the phrase "Olympic Games qualifying standard." That means the Olympic standard. If they had meant "in position to be selected based on world ranking" that's what they would have said.

Also, the statement said that the selection procedure would be the same as it is for World Championships. And the current World Championship selection procedure is the top three finishers at the Trials with the standard.

The person responding to the email could have easily misspoke or not fully understood what they were talking about. The USATF isn't exactly the most on top of it organization.

The person who responded is Susan Hazzard, the USATF Director of Communications. Her job is literally to come up with these sort of statements, not misspeak and understand exactly what she is talking about.

I sent her a list of questions, including very specific scenarios, such as what would happen if the third-placer at the Trials did not have the standard and the fourth-placer did. She responded with the statement that we published in the article. I do not think Susan would release a specific statement on behalf of USATF in response to a query regarding the new Olympic standards and how they will affect the Trials without making sure the response is accurate.

Getting a silver at the Olympics clearly indicates Paul could have run 13:13. He would now know he needs to accomplish this before the trials - go do it. If we don’t have 5-8 guys that can 13:13 in this country that should be the concern. Not the standard. We have 20+ college kids breaking 4:00 but we don’t a mass of guys that can run 4:15 pace for 5k?? The guys in these positions will hit the standards. I think you aren’t giving them enough credit. They now know what they need to do and theyll have the marks going in. Whether that is through gold label races or actually running 2:11. I think the athletes aren’t nearly as concerned as you are. They’re competitive. That’s their job.