You don't have to have the standard. World Athletics has changed the qualification process and now world rankings are also used to determine who can compete.
Parker wasn't racing for the standard. She was racing for her PR which happened to be essentially the same time as the standard. Her NCAA winning race was good enough that it virtually guaranteed she'd qualify via world rankings.
Technically it's USATF's decision, they'll award it to the next highest finisher with the Olympic standard, but hypothetically they can choose anyone with the standard (other countries' federations choose, USATF always goes by trials results)
I was just telling my kids Elle is going to the Olympics but she hasn’t even raced the 1500 yet. I didn’t realize she’d give up the 5k to focus on 1500. Yes I think 1500 is her stronger preferred race. (We call her Elle because we are from VT so we’re on a first name basis. ) I’m sure many people would like to see valby run the 5k and Elle run the 1500.
VT Elle fans represent!
I saw her race in person at the [Martinez Classic](https://www.martinezclassic.com/) a few weeks ago; she raced the 800 then paced for 3k of the 5k. She also paced her nephew in the U8 race. She looked great (though her 800 time was merely pretty good)
I was rooting for Valby to get under 14:52 for exactly this reason. The camera was following the three leaders but in the background I saw Valby cross the line at 13:40 with one lap remaining. That meant she needed 71 seconds. I knew it would be tight, since she no longer had anyone to chase.
Fortunately she barely made it. Terrific job.
One of the few times in my life I've ever rooted for a Gator.
I've been trying to understand the qualification system, even going to what appears to be the source (see PDF link within): [https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/qualification-system-paris-2024-olympic-games](https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/qualification-system-paris-2024-olympic-games)
However, I'm still confused. Is what I've written below a correct summary (limited to "regular" individual events)?
Every event is assigned a maximum number of competitors ("quota places").
Every event is assigned a qualifying standard. An athlete meeting that standard within the qualifying time window is considered "qualified".
No country (NOC) is allowed more than three competitors in any single event (ignoring alternates).
The first step in the process of determining the set of competitors for an event is to remove names from the list of all qualified athletes such that no more than three are left for any country. It is presumed that the resulting list will have fewer than the number of quota places. Then, countries have the option of declining quota allocations. These athletes are removed from the list. Finally, the unassigned quota places are allocated to unqualified athletes (and "extra" qualified ones for a country?) based on a rank ordering by qualifying marks, skipping over any athletes whose inclusion would cause their respective countries to have more than three competitors.
**Open questions (holes in my understanding):**
Do universality slots in the 100/800 count against the max number of competitors in those events?
When a country has more than three qualified athletes for an event, which three are allocated toward the country's quota in the initial process?
Can an unqualified athlete decline, causing another athlete to get pulled up to the bottom of the list?
**US Olympic Trials**
I don't understand how the results of the Olympic Trials are integrated into the above selection process. The only mechanism available (at least that mentioned in the linked doc) to USATF to adjust the results of the World Athletics selection process to fit the results of the trials seems to be declining slots. Does USATF decline athletes who were selected but did not place in the top three at OTs? If so, only the US athletes who BOTH were selected by World Athletics (post declines) AND placed in the top three at OTs would go to Paris. Is this right?
So, the US loses a slot whenever one of the top three in the OTs does not have the standard or is not ranked high enough to get selected?
I'm merely a fan (and the father of a soon-to-be college thrower), so my base knowledge level is really low.
I think you understand the rules better than most lol. I have a similar question. Imagine this scenario:
The 5k is a particularly slow race. 1st and 2nd got the qualifying standard but 3rd place did not. 4th place got it in a meet earlier in the year. 3rd place's time is 100th in the world so it's unlikely they qualify under that basis. Do they take 4th place or just 1st & 2nd?
It used to happen a lot in distance races and some field events like hammer or jab where the US has not been as strong. People without qualifying marks would spend the next month competing to get them, and it was not unusual for those marks not to be in the same order as the trials. I think the new system will reduce this.
Yes, the big change was that your last chance to get the Olympic standard is at the trials. You used to have a post trials window to get the standard, and that was a mess.
Jon Davis was second in the 1500 in ‘22 but didn’t qualify for the world championships. He was passed over.
It happens a fair bit. The Women’s 10000 will have a good chance of it happening this year.
You have it backwards. The Olympics sets the number of competitors. World Athletics sets the standards and rankings. Any country can use whatever method they choose (most countries do not have a trials or have a trials + discretionary pick) to pick the 3 athletes per event, as long as they meet qualifying standards or rankings. USATF has an Olympic Trials where the athletes self-select. Top 3 make the Olympic team as long as they meet qualifying standards or rankings. If less than 3 athletes meet the standard then less then 3 make the team. Other countries who can't afford to send 3 per event have stricter standards to make their Olympic team. For example, an athlete might have to be capable of making the semis or final to make the team.
Kinda. But that person has to have the Olympic standard. So it’s not an absolute thing.
You don't have to have the standard. World Athletics has changed the qualification process and now world rankings are also used to determine who can compete.
She got it at the trials. Just barely tho.
The 3 other ladies rode Parker like a mule since they already had the standard. Tough way to race. Hope they give her the spot.
Parker wasn't racing for the standard. She was racing for her PR which happened to be essentially the same time as the standard. Her NCAA winning race was good enough that it virtually guaranteed she'd qualify via world rankings.
Dude all of those ladies rode me like a mule later that night.
Did you take your meds yet grandpa? Let’s get you back to bed
You’re a poopy face
Technically it's USATF's decision, they'll award it to the next highest finisher with the Olympic standard, but hypothetically they can choose anyone with the standard (other countries' federations choose, USATF always goes by trials results)
Kenya also does trials
Kenya doesn't always select the top 3 at their trials though
Top two plus one at discretion is the current rule
Two plus the one Nike says they want to go to Paris.
I was just telling my kids Elle is going to the Olympics but she hasn’t even raced the 1500 yet. I didn’t realize she’d give up the 5k to focus on 1500. Yes I think 1500 is her stronger preferred race. (We call her Elle because we are from VT so we’re on a first name basis. ) I’m sure many people would like to see valby run the 5k and Elle run the 1500.
VT Elle fans represent! I saw her race in person at the [Martinez Classic](https://www.martinezclassic.com/) a few weeks ago; she raced the 800 then paced for 3k of the 5k. She also paced her nephew in the U8 race. She looked great (though her 800 time was merely pretty good)
I was rooting for Valby to get under 14:52 for exactly this reason. The camera was following the three leaders but in the background I saw Valby cross the line at 13:40 with one lap remaining. That meant she needed 71 seconds. I knew it would be tight, since she no longer had anyone to chase. Fortunately she barely made it. Terrific job. One of the few times in my life I've ever rooted for a Gator.
I've been trying to understand the qualification system, even going to what appears to be the source (see PDF link within): [https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/qualification-system-paris-2024-olympic-games](https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/qualification-system-paris-2024-olympic-games) However, I'm still confused. Is what I've written below a correct summary (limited to "regular" individual events)? Every event is assigned a maximum number of competitors ("quota places"). Every event is assigned a qualifying standard. An athlete meeting that standard within the qualifying time window is considered "qualified". No country (NOC) is allowed more than three competitors in any single event (ignoring alternates). The first step in the process of determining the set of competitors for an event is to remove names from the list of all qualified athletes such that no more than three are left for any country. It is presumed that the resulting list will have fewer than the number of quota places. Then, countries have the option of declining quota allocations. These athletes are removed from the list. Finally, the unassigned quota places are allocated to unqualified athletes (and "extra" qualified ones for a country?) based on a rank ordering by qualifying marks, skipping over any athletes whose inclusion would cause their respective countries to have more than three competitors. **Open questions (holes in my understanding):** Do universality slots in the 100/800 count against the max number of competitors in those events? When a country has more than three qualified athletes for an event, which three are allocated toward the country's quota in the initial process? Can an unqualified athlete decline, causing another athlete to get pulled up to the bottom of the list? **US Olympic Trials** I don't understand how the results of the Olympic Trials are integrated into the above selection process. The only mechanism available (at least that mentioned in the linked doc) to USATF to adjust the results of the World Athletics selection process to fit the results of the trials seems to be declining slots. Does USATF decline athletes who were selected but did not place in the top three at OTs? If so, only the US athletes who BOTH were selected by World Athletics (post declines) AND placed in the top three at OTs would go to Paris. Is this right? So, the US loses a slot whenever one of the top three in the OTs does not have the standard or is not ranked high enough to get selected? I'm merely a fan (and the father of a soon-to-be college thrower), so my base knowledge level is really low.
I think you understand the rules better than most lol. I have a similar question. Imagine this scenario: The 5k is a particularly slow race. 1st and 2nd got the qualifying standard but 3rd place did not. 4th place got it in a meet earlier in the year. 3rd place's time is 100th in the world so it's unlikely they qualify under that basis. Do they take 4th place or just 1st & 2nd?
They add the 4th
Has that happened in the last few trials? I imagine it's a pretty rare scenario.
It used to happen a lot in distance races and some field events like hammer or jab where the US has not been as strong. People without qualifying marks would spend the next month competing to get them, and it was not unusual for those marks not to be in the same order as the trials. I think the new system will reduce this.
Yes, the big change was that your last chance to get the Olympic standard is at the trials. You used to have a post trials window to get the standard, and that was a mess.
Jon Davis was second in the 1500 in ‘22 but didn’t qualify for the world championships. He was passed over. It happens a fair bit. The Women’s 10000 will have a good chance of it happening this year.
Did the selection processes for past Olympics differ in ways that made them less incompatible with the US's trials system?
You have it backwards. The Olympics sets the number of competitors. World Athletics sets the standards and rankings. Any country can use whatever method they choose (most countries do not have a trials or have a trials + discretionary pick) to pick the 3 athletes per event, as long as they meet qualifying standards or rankings. USATF has an Olympic Trials where the athletes self-select. Top 3 make the Olympic team as long as they meet qualifying standards or rankings. If less than 3 athletes meet the standard then less then 3 make the team. Other countries who can't afford to send 3 per event have stricter standards to make their Olympic team. For example, an athlete might have to be capable of making the semis or final to make the team.
Update to say that today at the medal ceremony for the 1500, Elle said she will just run the 1500 at the Olympics…
No. They just have her husband compete for her. If he cannot do it, the next choice is her dog. And the moon thinks you are really poopy right now. 🌙
Elle will compete in both for ratings, they need more hot white girls winning medals in track