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Looking at at that list the 3rd US men is ranked 43rd, I see some countries that have 4 ahead of the 3rd US Spain and France right off the top but I also see countries that don't even have 2 athletes before the 3rd US make.
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Olympic qualifications in any sport are a bit of a dog's breakfast. Look at how many swimmers from the US and some of the other powerhouses don't make it through their own country's Olympic Trials, but would probably final at the Games if they got there.
To those suggesting the US men not send three athletes, give your friggin' head a shake. You earned the slots. How is it in any way better for your sport to not use them? When I was young and mildly ambitious, though sorely untalented, I would rather have come DEAD FREAKING LAST at the Olympics than to outright win just about any other race. You have 12 year old kids that are dreaming of making the Olympics right now. They should be given the hope they need to train like crazy people for the next 8 to 12 years in order to make it.
I definitely support the idea that no country gets more than 3 spots. Its important for the growth of the sport that as many national triathlon bodies as possible get to send their best to the Olympics.
That being said, if a country earned 3 spots they sure as hell better use them!
I can see the "it's embarrassing to get lapped or DFL" side of things, but by turning down a rightfully earned spot, you're just perpetuating it by letting the spot roll down even farther to another country.
Maybe you can make the argument that it's more harmful/embarrassing for a USA/AUS/GBR/NED to have a low finishing athlete, outweighed by the benefit of letting a tiny country with no history of participation in the Olympic triathlon get its one athlete into the games. But I'm not sure that's true except for Internet pundits who criticize the guy who finishes last place in the Olympics. Nobody criticizes the middle reliever who still gets a World Series ring as "worthless and shouldn't be there." It's a weird thing about triathlon where that happens.
- Katie Zaferes - Strong swimmer, strong biker, most experienced at WTS
- Kirsten Kasper - Strong swimmer, strong (enough) biker, experienced at WTS
- Renee Tomlin Has struggled on the swim
- Summer Cook Struggled heavily on the bike at Yoko
- Lindsey Jerdonek Said today on Instagram she didn't make it.
- Erin Dolan Slower swimmer than Gwen/very little experience.
- Erin Jones Often *dropped* on the bike
- Taylor Spivey - Very unlikely, but not impossible -- fits the profile
- Kaitlin Donner Swim too slow/little experience
- Chelsea Burns Swim too slow/little experience
- Taylor Knibb Super untested at high level races (doesn't meet front-pack WTS requirement), but otherwise an interesting choice.
- Nicole Truxes Untested at WTS events
- Avery Evenson Untested at WTS events
- Johanna Gartman Untested at WTS events
- Bria Edwards Untested at WTS events
- Jessica Broderick Swim too slow/lots of DNFs
Without saying who I think should go to Rio, Zaferes, Kasper, and Spivey are really the only ones who possibly could.Thoughts?
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Who is Mag900? God help me. Is it an obnoxious poster on ST?
As for sending 3 males or not...it's just interesting to see how some Natl Federations fill all qualified slots and others don't. Or at least haven't confirmed. My fav Lisa Norden is still waiting to hear from Swedish Olympic Committee if they'll send her. Sweden is allocated 1 slot but SOK isn't sure they want to send her unless they think she has potential to finish in Top 8 in Rio and with her injuries they are not certain.
I know it's silly given the Olympics and all the politics but I like objective criteria so when it gets subjective I long for simple black and white rules.
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ok carry on, carry on...
Ah the politics of American selections... my few cents worth
1. I look at the men's rankings circulated and it is odd you get 3 slots when you probably won't get a guy in the top 10 (realistically this could be 20) and 1 of those slots would, for me, be far better given to smaller developing countries/ federations.
2. IF (and I accept this is a big if), the women all go true to form and there are no unforeseen mishaps, crashes punctures etc, its hard to say KZ is a strong podium shout. Yes she has had good results in the first half of last year BUT... in the three biggest races of the past 12 months (Rio, Grand Final and Yoko) she has failed to deliver and has consistently been beaten by Sarah True (who has herself been beaten by the Brits when it counts).
3. IMHO the best chance that Sarah True and KZ would have of getting on the podium is getting of the bike 30-45 seconds ahead of the three Brits, who will themselves be desperate to get off the front in any break away as it makes life much tougher on Gwen if they can put 30 seconds plus come T2... So if the US wants the clean sweep they in essence have to attack relentlessly on the bike and hope that KZ and ST can get off the front without any of the Brits and without shooting Gwen's legs to bits as well - that sounds to me like a pretty tough strategy to make work...
4. So... domestique??? Well I'm not convinced that works either... on recent form Gwen swims with or ahead of the Brits, she's unlikely to need a domestique to pull her back to the pack. Gwen then doesn't need to try and get out, she just needs to make sure that the Brits don't get away up the road. Now will a domestique vs KZ make a difference to this? For the reasons in 3, no it won't, if the Brits get up the road KZ and ST don't catch them on the run, so their interests are directly aligned with Gwen, all three American's need to get up the road after them ASAP. I don't see how a domestique makes much difference. I understand from the above that Spivel(??) might be a better biker but is young and untested (and how's her run?) - unless she really is an uber biker (a la Flora Duffy) I'm sceptical whether there's a substantial enough difference.
5. Finally, given that accidents/ the unforeseen can and do frequently happen (especially on tight technical bike courses) which might mean that Brits/ Gwen/ Sarah T might not be in the mix up coming out of T2 in which case the goal posts have moved and surely you want the next best shot you have in the race.
In conclusion - on a "normal" day if everyone goes true to form I don't think KZ medals (sorry guys) but on that same normal day I don't think a domestique effects the race. On that basis, KZ should definitely go as a) the next in the rankings, b) the most likely to get a medal, c) arguably the most fitting individual to be a domestique in any event.
I see USAT failing in a similar way here. KZ earned the spot. Stop fucking with her. And don't ask her to subvert her own aspirations for the greater good. That's just asking for her to jump in the race and give a giant middle finger to USAT. If I were in her shoes as a domestique, I'd swim front pack, then destroy the bike. Do whatever I could to drop the other USA athletes, then get DQ'd on the run because I went off course and took a shit on the feet of the selectors. Be a hell of a story. And put triathlon on national news.
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It's worth noting that Triathlon Australia totally blew selecting both Michelle Jones and Emma Snowsill for the 2004 Olympics as well, instead they went for a favorite an then emerging youngster.
When it came around to the 2012 Olympics I had a female pro home staying with me for 18-months, she was a solid selection, and in 2012 got a top-10 slot at the 70.3 Worlds after she was totally overlooked(our opinion) for Olympic selection.
Governing bodies march to the beat of a different drum when it comes to selection, it's not about the individual athlete. As for Tommy speaking out and being so public about Katies selection, he might want to check with Simon Wilson, Husband of Andrea Whitcombe from the UK, she never got selected in the end, they gave the slot to an up and coming triathlete, Jodie Swallow.
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Frankly, I hope the Americans pick a domestique and reduce their odds of a medal because I'm cheering against them anyways.
So yep, it's fair to say this isn't a new problem.
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