US Olympic Track and Field Trials (Page 4)

jmk-brooklyn - 2012-06-28 10:56 PM I was at an event tonight and I sat next to a woman who said her cousin, Kim Conley, was running in the trials tonight in the 5k. Since she was the only name I knew in the race, I was rooting for her. It was one of the best finishes I've ever seen-she was in eighth place with 600m to go, needing both a top-3 finish and the Olympic standard to get to London. Somehow, she closed the gap, got third place by :03 seconds and met the Olympic standard by less than a second as well. Now she's headed to her first Olympics. So cool. Three hours ago I didn't know who she was, but I was yelling at the tv as if I'd been a huge fan my whole life. I love the Olympics.

That is 100% awesome.

jmk-brooklyn - 2012-06-28 7:56 PM I was at an event tonight and I sat next to a woman who said her cousin, Kim Conley, was running in the trials tonight in the 5k. Since she was the only name I knew in the race, I was rooting for her. It was one of the best finishes I've ever seen-she was in eighth place with 600m to go, needing both a top-3 finish and the Olympic standard to get to London. Somehow, she closed the gap, got third place by :03 seconds and met the Olympic standard by less than a second as well. Now she's headed to her first Olympics. So cool. Three hours ago I didn't know who she was, but I was yelling at the tv as if I'd been a huge fan my whole life. I love the Olympics.

Love it! That was an awesome finish.

jmk-brooklyn - 2012-06-28 9:56 PM I was at an event tonight and I sat next to a woman who said her cousin, Kim Conley, was running in the trials tonight in the 5k. Since she was the only name I knew in the race, I was rooting for her. It was one of the best finishes I've ever seen-she was in eighth place with 600m to go, needing both a top-3 finish and the Olympic standard to get to London. Somehow, she closed the gap, got third place by :03 seconds and met the Olympic standard by less than a second as well. Now she's headed to her first Olympics. So cool. Three hours ago I didn't know who she was, but I was yelling at the tv as if I'd been a huge fan my whole life. I love the Olympics.

If Lucas hadn't run out front and stepped up the pace, she would be headed to the Olympics right now!  They didn't look like they were on pace for Conley to make the A standard, but she got a push from Lucas!  Congrats to her for making it in, I have to give her props for that finish! 

Yes, especially those last two or three steps. I know she was out of gas and struggling, but you could tell she eased her pushing those last couple of steps and didn't lean. I haven't seen any interviews with her, but I think she thought she had done it and didn't quite push all the way to the line. Heck, if she would have just leaned forward instead of leaning back she would have had it. The double-whammy is if even though Conley beat her, if she hadn't just got under the A standard, then Lucas still would have gone to the Olympics. Man, it's gotta be tough for her today.

That being said, the story of Conley racing in there for third and just nipping the A standard is a dream come true for any athlete. Congrats to her making that happen.

So, Felix and Tarmoh decided on a runoff, but there are rumors this morning that Tarmoh may decide not to race...

If the race happens, it will air live tonight at 8 EST on NBC.

Quick thoughts on the run-off that now won't happen.

I understand Tarmoh is in a bad place mentally right now. She feels she got third, had the chance to celebrate for a while and the whole bit then had it yanked away. She felt cornered and forced into this run off. I feel very badly for her. By all accounts, she's a very nice person and deserved that spot as much as anybody. All that being said, the day will come when she will absolutely regret the decision to concede the position in the 100 meters. Those Olympic chances just don't come around often and she might never get another one. Yes, she'll probably still run in the relay, but that's not the same. I would like to have seen her grit her teeth, tell the world to shove it, and take her shot with the run-off.

Second, for those people who say Felix had her spot in the 200 and has been to the Olympics before so she should concede her spot, I say baloney. She understands you just don't give up an Olympic spot. She also understands a big reason why she just ran the fastest 200 meters in the last 14 years is because she ran the 100. She understands her best shot at the 200 gold is to run the 100 and no way should anybody expect her to give up that spot. She's not the one who called it a tie. None of this is her fault. Unfortunately, some people will see her as being greedy and that isn't fair.

I whole-heartedly agree. I think she should have at least given the run-off a go. 

I actually was thinking in my head, "OH Felix should just give it to Tarmoh since she got the 200." but ummmm this is the forkin' Olympics! We want whoever can best represent our country in the specific event. 

I feel really bad for Tarmoh. I'm sure she's fried from all of this and didn't want to get smoked on national TV in a match race. On the other hand, you never know what could have happened. As they say in sports, that's why we play the games. She could have pulled off a huge shocker that nobody saw coming. Everybody assumes Felix would win because she's stronger, more experienced, etc., but you never know.

USATF really screwed this up though. I understand why they wanted to have this resolved as soon as possible, but USOC doesn't require the final rosters until July 6. They should have given them a few days to rest, then held the runoff late this week. That would haven given them both a more of a fair shot in what is inherently an unfair situation.

Yeah, but it's not like Felix isn't a bit fried as well. It's one of those you never know until you try type of deals. Shoot, maybe she should have opted for the coin toss at least haha.