Picking U.S. Marathoners A Dilemma

USATF's seemingly simple first-3-past-the-post method for picking Olympic team members may prove not so simple for the 2000 marathon squads.

Ideally, three runners at the February 26 women's Trial will better 2:33:00 and three men at the May 7 men's Trial will finish in under 2:14. If so, those six athletes will make the Olympic team.

The times, 2:14:00 and 2:33:00, are the Olympic "A" standards. Each nation may send up to three athletes who have bettered them during the period January 1, 1999-September 11, 2000. Complexity creeps in because just two U.S. men (David Morris and Joe LeMay) and two women (Libbie Hickman and Kristy Johnston) are A-qualified so far.

Just one marathoner of each sex may be entered in the Olympics if they are not A-qualified (but have a "B" qualifier of 2:20:00 for men or 2:45:00 for women).

Men's selection protocol details must yet pass final muster with a couple of USATF committees, despite weeks of intense debate, but the protocol for the women's Trial has been announced by USATF. USATF's official release with the details:

1. Only runners who finish the Olympic Trials Marathon in Columbia, South Carolina on February 26, 2000 and who have achieved the Olympic "B" standard will be eligible for selection to the Olympic Marathon team.

2. The winner of the Trials will be selected regardless of whether or not she has achieved the Olympic "A" standard.

3. If the winner of the Trials has achieved the Olympic "A" standard during the period from January 1, 1999 through February 26, 2000 then: the next highest one or two Trials finishers who achieve the Olympic "A" standard before or at the Trials will be selected for the team.

4. If there are less than three (3) eligible team members after the Trials and the winner of the Trials has achieved the Olympic "A" standard during the period from January 1, 1999 through February 26, 2000 then: the next highest one or two Trials finishers who achieve the Olympic "A" standard on or before June 17, 2000 will fill team vacancies in order of finish at the Trials.

5. If the winner of the Trials has not achieved the Olympic "A" standard during the period from January 1, 1999 through June 17, 2000 then: she is selected and no other runners are selected regardless of any previous or subsequent performance. The WLDR Committee discourages the Trials winner from running another marathon between the Trials and the Olympic Games. Alternate Selection:

6. If U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon team vacancies occur due to injury, illness or other event selection conflicts, only athletes who have finished the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon will fill such vacancies. Qualified replacements will be added:

a) If there is only one athlete on the team and she withdraws, then:

1) If there are two or more Trials finishers who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard from January 1, 1999 through June 17, 2000, they will be moved onto the team from the alternate's list in the order in which they finished the Trials.

2) Otherwise, if the number of athletes who have finished the Trials and who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard from January 1, 1999 through June 17, 2000 is less than two, the next highest eligible Trials finisher (with an Olympic "A" or "B" standard) will be moved onto the team.

b) If there are two or more athletes on the team and one of them withdraws, athletes who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard from January 1, 1999, through February 26, 2000, shall be added in order of their Trials finish. If there remain open places on the team, athletes who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard between February 27, 2000 and June 17, 2000 shall be added to the team in order of their Trials finish.

Automatic entry will be provided for past U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon team members. (end USATF release)

Men's Long Distance Running Committee chair Danny Grimes was unable to state at presstime whether a post-May-7 window would open to allow men to chase A qualifiers, but others close to the matter said the committee was leaning away from such a move.

"I was surprised by the number of negative responses from athletes we got to that," Grimes says, adding that U.S. marathoners are emotionally divided on the issue.

While predicting a definitive announcement of protocol to be imminent, Grimes concludes, "I think what we need to do is concentrate not on this one problem, but rather on what we can do [to improve the quality and depth of U.S. marathon performance] so that in four years we don't have this same problem."