USATF Championships Day 2 Recap: the Athletes do their Job, but the Meet Officials Don't

EDITOR'S NOTE: AnnGaff and LesleyHiggins are writing these previews for the USA Track & Field Championships, taking place this weekend in Eugene, OR, based on their firsthand Track & Field experience. Gaffigan and Higgins competed against each other in college, with Gaffigan representing the Nebraska Huskers and Higgins representing the Colorado Buffs. Both women competed last year in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Olympic Trials. This year, the two are spectators-from-afar of the USATF Championships/World Team Trials; Higgins is out with a broken foot and Gaffigan gave birth to a baby girl in May.

FINALS:

Triple Jump:

1. Shakeema Welsch 14.30m
2. Erica McLain 13.91m
3. Toni Smith 13.90m

Shakeema Welsch lived up to expectations and not only won but surpassed the World Championships "A" Standard of 14.20m and therefore doubly secured her spot on the World Team and moved up to 11th on the 2009 World list. McLain and a surprising Smith must now chase the "A" standard or at least the "B" of 14.00m in order to make the trip to Berlin with Team USA. They have about 6 weeks to do so.

Shot Put:

1. Michelle Carter 18.03m
2. Jillian Camarena 17.94m
3. Kristin Heaston 17.88

If the triple jump confused you in terms of who gets to be on the World team, don't worry because it is very simple (this time) with the shot put, the reason being that the top 4 contenders already have hit the World Champs "A" Standard of 18.20m and therefore the top 3 at this meet, as long as it consisted of 3 of those 4 women, were going to make the team without question.

LHiggs' NYAC teammate Elizabeth Wanless didn't clinch the 3rd spot but her 1st- and 2nd-place picks were correct and the US Team for Berlin is set.

100m Dash:

1. Carmelita Jeter 10.78 [10.776]
2. Muna Lee 10.78 [10.777]
3. Lauryn Williams 10.96

No one in the final of the 100m Dash ran slower than the World "A" Standard of 11.30, so no question as to who was on the World Team after this race was over. But there was a surprise in that Muna Lee almost stole victory from world-leading and 2009-undefeated Carmelita Jeter. Lee needed about 5 more meters to lean out Jeter, as her closing speed was phenomenal. As it was, she only lost by 1000th of a second and established herself as the other US contender for Gold in Berlin.

There is a good recap of the race with athlete quotes HERE.

5000m Run:

1. Kara Goucher 15:20.94
2. Jen Rhines 15:26.92
3. Angela Bizzarri 15:33.02

According to press release from David Monti at Race Results Weekly:

Kara Goucher, who is in the midst of training for her first appearance at a World Championships marathon in Berlin in August, broke away with fellow Olympian Jen Rhines with three laps to go. Approaching the bell together, Goucher simply ran the faster final circuit, clocking 64.9 seconds to Rhines's 70.6. It was Goucher's second consecutive USA title at the distance.

"I almost fell twice," said Goucher of the slow early laps which led to her modest 15:20.94 finish time. "You just have to not let it bother you."

Rhines clocked 15:26.92, and because she already has the IAAF "A" standard of 15:10.00 (she ran 14:54.29 in Oslo last year), is locked-in for the USA team for Berlin. Behind Rhines, University of Illinois junior Angela Bizzarri, the NCAA 5000m champion, came from fifth place on the last lap to pass both Julie Culley and Rebecca Donaghue to take a surprising third place. She has neither the IAAF "A" or "B" standard (15:25.00) so her status is uncertain for the World Championships team. Bizzari was overwhelmed by the thought that she could possibly be in a global championships.

"I don't know," she said when asked if she planned to try to get her "B" standard before the July 31 deadline which would put her on the team. "I've never run outside of the country."

ROUNDS:

The only rounds I'm going to mention are the women's Steeplechase heats. The barrier at the water jump was set at the men's height of 36 inches instead of the women's height of 30 inches. This is an inexcusable error by the meet officials that resulted in at least one athlete getting hurt: Michigan State's Nicole Bush, who broke her foot and was taken to the hospital following her heat. Bush valiantly finished the race and still qualified for tomorrow's final but it is unknown whether she will be physically able to compete. This is sad and unfair because she had a very good chance of making the World team, being ranked 4th and already having the World "A" Standard.

It is the responsibility of the USATF to make sure their National Championships are professionally run. Before the festival is set up outside the track, before the Pick N Win Fantasy contest is hyped, before the star athletes' pictures are painted on billboards, before ticket sales are counted, the priority should be to make sure the meet is run professionally. That means that the athletes' safety is ensured and the validity of their performances is safe. A race with a barrier at the wrong height is a race where no marks count. No "A" standards can be met, no rankings on the World list can be improved. A race where the barrier is at the wrong height is a race where athletes are in more danger of injuring themselves. Is the steeplechase already dangerous? Yes, but the athletes prepare for the race ahead of time, knowing how high each barrier is, and how far apart, and thus can plan accordingly. Throwing 15 athletes onto the track and surprising them at the first water jump with a too-high barrier is a mistake that can have serious consequences. And in this case, it did.

What can Nicole Bush do now? Nothing, except hope she can compete well enough tomorrow to make the team. Is it likely? No, because the field is too strong and there is no room for error; and therefore Bush has just had to watch her dream of making a US team whisked away from her because the meet officials didn't double-check their work and put a measuring stick next to the water jump barrier...because they simply didn't do their job. And this cannot be undone. Bush finished 4th at last year's Olympic Trials, one place out of making the team. She put her head down and trained hard this year to make the World Team and the work had been paying off...until now when someone else's careless mistake has cost her the chance to toe the line and give it a shot.

The USATF should be ashamed.

Photo from OregonLive.com: Spectators noticed that many women had trouble in the water pit and wondered why.

USATF Championships Schedule, Results & Quotes

USATF Championships Day 1 Recap

USATF Championships Day 2 Recap

USATF Championships Day 3 Recap

USATF Championships Day 4 Recap

More USATF Championships Previews:

• Discus
• Hammer
• High Jump
• Javelin
• Long Jump
• Pole Vault
• Triple Jump
• Shot Put
• Heptathlon
• 100m
• 100m Hurdles
• 200m
• 400m
• 400m Hurdles
• 800m
• 1500m
• 3000m Steeplechase
• 5000m
• 10,000m

Watch the USATF Championships:

On TV:

ESPN, June 26, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. ET
ESPN, June 27, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. ET
NBC, June 28, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET

Online:

LIVE All Weekend at Flotrack.org

View AnnGaff's Profile

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There are 2 comments on this post. Join the discussion!

JimG

Considering the age of some of the officials, maybe they DID measure the barrier height but misread the "6" as "0" (left their bifocals at home).

This it total BS and Doug Logan should issue a public apology, find out who is responsible and strip them of any national officiating duties/rights until after the next Olympiad, and make sure USATF insurance covers all Bush's medical expenses.

I have seen hurdles put at the wrong marks and/or at wrong height in more national meets than I'd care to recount.

Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 7:56pm PDT

AnnGaff

I agree Jim, and looks like Logan did issue a genuine apology and promised Nicole Bush she would be on the top of the list of athletes to receive post-collegiate funding from the USATF. He also said her rehab and recovery would be taken care of. Still, this can't be undone and she still had her chance to make a World Team taken away from her. I hope to see her have success in the next few years so that this weekend will no longer matter.

Here's the article Logan was quoted in. From the Eugene Register-Guard today, front page of the sports section:

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/sports/trackandfield/16233961-41/story.csp

Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 10:58am PDT