Olympic do-over? Is this the right call?

[Corso]

So we’ve all seen the Good Sportsman act of US runner Abbey D'Agostino encouraged New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin.

Bravo. Nice.

BUT, the Olympic Committee has decided to move them to the finals?

I’m not sure that’s fair at all, to ALL the other athletes in the Olympics.

They didn’t qualify in the heat due to the fall, so why get a pass to the final?

In my book, Abbey tripped Nikki (in front of her) causing the spill…it happens in track all the time. She caused the accident. But somehow the PR spin is that “no one was at fault”, due to the “happy story”.

D’Agostino’s injury won’t permit her to run anyway, but a free pass to the finals?

You qualify in the heats or you don’t. I don’t get this at all, other than Rio needs a “Feel-good” headline to offset the bad.

Am I alone on this?

[dgaddis]

Did someone else get bumped by letting her in?

[Corso]

I don’t think so, it’s a pack start so numbers don’t count like a lane race.
They granted 3 involved advancement.

[Bewheels]

Another way to look at it - Olympic spirit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or from another source -

The purpose of the modern Olympic Games is to promote peace and unity within the international community through the medium of sports. The founder, Pierre de Coubertin, saw the games as a way to bring political enemies together.

Or from another source -

OLYMPISM IS A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE, EXALTING AND COMBINING IN A BALANCED WHOLE THE QUALITIES OF BODY, WILL AND MIND. BLENDING SPORT WITH CULTURE AND EDUCATION, OLYMPISM SEEKS TO CREATE A WAY OF LIFE BASED ON THE JOY FOUND IN EFFORT, THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF GOOD EXAMPLE AND RESPECT FOR UNIVERSAL FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.

My only point being that there is another aspect of the Olympics in addition to pure competition. I think it is a good for things like this to happen 1-2 times during the Olympics provided (to Dustin's question) that it is not at the expense of someone else.

BTW - I am predicting this turns into a 'participation trophy' thread...

[MarkC]

Mary Decker just called, wants to know if she can get back in too.

[spopepro]

Do you have an issue with free laps at criteriums? Drafting the moto procession back to the pack after a crash?

How about this one:

[Doug Fattic]

In my book, Abbey tripped Nikki (in front of her) causing the spill…it happens in track all the time. She caused the accident. But somehow the PR spin is that “no one was at fault”, due to the “happy story”.... Am I alone on this?

You would be alone in your opinion on the running forums. The consensus was that as the peloton started to pass a slower lapped runner the adjustment in front of Nikki caused feet to get tangled and her fall caused Abbey to fall. While there was some debate on who in front of Abbey was at fault (including the IOC for letting such a slow runner in the race), nobody thought Abbey was at fault.

[Corso]

I watched the video a dozen times this morning before I posted, as I wanted to make sure of what I was seeing. I used to run track, so I know about running in a pack, and really wanted to SEE how it happened.

Now, going back to review the vid, most have been replaced with still photos of after the “incident”, with them on the group, hugging, etc, but no still of the actual “tangle”.

European coverage says Abby “clipped” Nikki’s foot…American reports, not so much.

The british/new zealand websites had the vids, now they don’t seem to be working either.

Rio Olympics 216: Abbey D'Agostino completed 5,m heat with torn ACL - BBC Sport

US and New Zealand runners HELP each other finish the race after fall during 5,m | Daily Mail Online

Olympic spirit: New Zealand and American runners help each other after collision | Sport | The Guardian.

Nothing now on youtube, except stills. Odd for a video outlet.

I hate to be running for my tinfoil hat, but this is so odd that the video has become “MIA” on the internet.

[colker]

I watched the video a dozen times this morning before I posted, as I wanted to make sure of what I was seeing. I used to run track, so I know about running in a pack, and really wanted to SEE how it happened.

Now, going back to review the vid, most have been replaced with still photos of after the “incident”, with them on the group, hugging, etc, but no still of the actual “tangle”.

European coverage says Abby “clipped” Nikki’s foot…American reports, not so much.

The british/new zealand websites had the vids, now they don’t seem to be working either.

Rio Olympics 216: Abbey D'Agostino completed 5,m heat with torn ACL - BBC Sport

US and New Zealand runners HELP each other finish the race after fall during 5,m | Daily Mail Online

Olympic spirit: New Zealand and American runners help each other after collision | Sport | The Guardian.

Nothing now on youtube, except stills. Odd for a video outlet.

I hate to be running for my tinfoil hat, but this is so odd that the video has become “MIA” on the internet.

NOw you have to edit your posts; it never happened. We are your friends Corso.. trust me on this.

[dashDustin]

[Corso]

Man, either I’m drinking too much, or too little! Thanks Dustin. Folks, watch the vid.

But, the original question, regardless to who was at fault: Do these athletes deserve to make the finals when they didn’t qualify for it? I mean, boxing judges just got canned for calling bad decisions, but the boxing results did not change. The guy who fell on the first high hurdle may be a saint, but he fell, period. How do all the other women who didn’t qualify in the race feel, seeing 3 others get a free pass?

Can’t wait for D2R2, i need to clear my brain...

[fiveller]

Here's a good thread plus animated gif of the incident:

Sometimes good sportsmanship is hard to find : olympics

Read through the top rated comments which includes links to interviews with the runners, etc.

Now we can all go to some thread where runners are discussing how at fault Cavendish was and why he should have been disqualified instead of getting silver.

[vertical_doug]

Man, either I’m drinking too much, or too little! Thanks Dustin. Folks, watch the vid.

But, the original question, regardless to who was at fault: Do these athletes deserve to make the finals when they didn’t qualify for it? I mean, boxing judges just got canned for calling bad decisions, but the boxing results did not change. The guy who fell on the first high hurdle may be a saint, but he fell, period. How do all the other women who didn’t qualify in the race feel, seeing 3 others get a free pass?



Can’t wait for D2R2, i need to clear my brain...

Doug Fattic gave you an explanation above. The pack was splitting with some women going outside and some trying to go inside the slower lapped runner. You can see the woman in red moving backward through pack. This impeded the runners and caused the fall. It is pretty simple.

There is a whole protest proceedure set up in track for these situations and this is not out of the ordinary. For a pack race with prelims like this, there is a room to be accomodative. If you polled the rest of the women who did qualify in the heat, I doubt you'd find complaints.

In the men's hurdles, because of the heavy rain during the first to prelim heats, they gave the last 8 runners another race to try to qualify for the semi's on time at the end of the evening, I do not think that was televised.

The more interesting question was the DQ of Kemboi in the steeplechase from the bronze.

[BShow]

Doug Fattic gave you an explanation above. The pack was splitting with some women going outside and some trying to go inside the slower lapped runner. You can see the woman in red moving backward through pack. This impeded the runners and caused the fall. It is pretty simple.

There is a whole protest proceedure set up in track for these situations and this is not out of the ordinary. For a pack race with prelims like this, there is a room to be accomodative. If you polled the rest of the women who did qualify in the heat, I doubt you'd find complaints.

In the men's hurdles, because of the heavy rain during the first to prelim heats, they gave the last 8 runners another race to try to qualify for the semi's on time at the end of the evening, I do not think that was televised.

The more interesting question was the DQ of Kemboi in the steeplechase from the bronze.

The lapped runner qualified to be in that race, so she had a right to be there despite being much slower than the majority of contestants. I've not read the rules, so I have no idea if they address this situation, but they certainly should. While that runner had a right to be in the race, she definitely should not have been in that position to cause the pack to spilt up, resulting in athletes falling. There are two ways that the officials could have handled it: She could have either been pulled by officials like a CX race, or she could have been forced to move outside and let the group pass. Its not like this happened all of a sudden, there was plenty of time for race officials to see that she was gonna get lapped and make the call and necessary adjustment. Being a non-championship heat, I'd be inclined to let lapped runners finish; but they shouldnt be allowed to impede the race that has left them behind. In a race like this, my opinion is that the officials need to be proactive in keeping the runners safe, ensuring that this type of thing doesnt happen.

Regardless of the rules, or what the officials should have or should not have done, that lapped runner should have taken it upon herself to get out of the way. Even if the rules explicitely state that its OK, staying on the rail while you're getting lapped is a dick move.

For the women that went down in that race, it sucks to be in that position but those things do happen in pack races. When you're close like that, people's feet get tangled and they go down. Add lapped racers into the mix and its even more of a risk. I can see both sides of the ruling to give these women a pass to the finals... On one hand, its not their fault and in the spirit of the olimpics and all that. On the other hand, this is a world championship event and rules are rules. At the end of the day, the women that rightfully qualified are not displaced by the three granted a pass, but what about the rest of the heat that didnt qualify? Were they really unaffected? A race like this is just as much mental as it is physical. its conceivable that your competitors laying on the track, mixed with broken strides, could have adversely affected other runners as well. Was this ruling fair to them?

I agree about Kemboi in the steeple. From the news blurbs i've read and picture I've seen, it looks like he was crowded into the infield by another runner and even then had one foot land inside the line for one step. The fact that this guy crossed the line holding up three fingers, to me suggests that maybe he shoudl have focused more on his race and won his medal, rather than stolen it from the world's most renowned steeple chase runner. We've seen a lot of concessions granted to atheletes throughout these games and to uphold a protest for what appears to be one step inside the line when crowded by another runner is pretty wack.

[vertical_doug]

If a country has no qualified entrants to the track and field events, they can nominate one person to compete as long as it is not the 10k marathon or multi-discpline (hepdec). (there were a few of these entrants throught the running events) The runner that caused the mishap was in on this inclusion and had a PB 2m below the standard. Literally, thrown in the deep in, completely over their head. This is the root of the problem. A more experienced runner probably would have move out to lane 3 or 4 to let the pack pass. She DNF'd to boot.

[BShow]

If a country has no qualified entrants to the track and field events, they can nominate one person to compete as long as it is not the 10k marathon or multi-discpline (hepdec). (there were a few of these entrants throught the running events) The runner that caused the mishap was in on this inclusion and had a PB 2m below the standard. Literally, thrown in the deep in, completely over their head. This is the root of the problem. A more experienced runner probably would have move out to lane 3 or 4 to let the pack pass. She DNF'd to boot.

wow. I didnt realize this. I assumed that she had at least earned the right to be there.

[roseyscot]

If a country has no qualified entrants to the track and field events, they can nominate one person to compete as long as it is not the 10k marathon or multi-discpline (hepdec). (there were a few of these entrants throught the running events) The runner that caused the mishap was in on this inclusion and had a PB 2m below the standard. Literally, thrown in the deep in, completely over their head. This is the root of the problem. A more experienced runner probably would have move out to lane 3 or 4 to let the pack pass. She DNF'd to boot.

Memories of Ryan Trebon getting taken out at cx nats by a rider who should not have been in the elite race.

[Tom]

I think they leave themselves some judgement so if you run into someone and fall over they say tough bananas but if someone runs into you and you fall over they let you through and if someone makes two of you run into each other and you both fall over they let you both through. The idea being you can run as fast as you can totally crosseyed in a tight pack and as long as it wasn't you that screwed up you should be good until the final when it is tough bananas across the board. Takes away the Hack-a-Shaq strategy and tries to prevent a blatant chop fest. Different than cycling but different people wrote the rules.

[spopepro]

I think they leave themselves some judgement so if you run into someone and fall over they say tough bananas but if someone runs into you and you fall over they let you through and if someone makes two of you run into each other and you both fall over they let you both through. The idea being you can run as fast as you can totally crosseyed in a tight pack and as long as it wasn't you that screwed up you should be good until the final when it is tough bananas across the board. Takes away the Hack-a-Shaq strategy and tries to prevent a blatant chop fest. Different than cycling but different people wrote the rules.

Not different from cycling, and that's the point I was trying to make above. We give free laps. The Italian rider got some when he was crashed out in the points race that everyone is happy to discuss. We give free rides back up to the front. We neutralize race times in final kms and then if a favorite crashes further out we extend the neutralized zone. We let riders back in who don't make time cuts because we feel like it. We are the biggest sport of bending rules about who should be racing when and where and what they need to do.

But the biggest one is the video I linked. Yes, the track rules state specifically that the team sprint can be restarted if a member has a mishap, but that doesn't include going down intentionally. And while Hindes later recanted his statement that his fall was strategic due to a poor start, that's as clear a dive as I've ever seen. Then again, I've been flat out told by an official that if I had just laid down on the pavement I would have gotten my saddle adjusted and a free lap at a crit where I was originally denied because it was deemed "not a mishap".

[dashDustin]

Then again, I've been flat out told by an official that if I had just laid down on the pavement I would have gotten my saddle adjusted and a free lap at a crit where I was originally denied because it was deemed "not a mishap".

There's a video of a friend of mine at a recent twilight crit coming up to a crash and "falling". it's pretty damn funny.