3rd place at US Olympic Marathon Trials leonard corrillToday, the 2024 Olympic chances were dealt a major blow as World Athletics added 11 universal athletes to the Olympic marathon field.This news does not affect trial winners Connor Mantz or trial runner-up clayton young, both had already qualified by running under the automatic qualifying standard of 2:08:10. The last time the United States missed out on the maximum three spots in the men's Olympic marathon was in Sydney in 2000.
World Athletics also awarded nine universal spots in the Olympic women's marathon field, but that does not affect the American women, who will continue to send a full team of three. Top 3 U.S. Olympic Trials — Fiona O'Keeffe, Emily Sissonand Dakota Lindwurm — During the qualifying period (November 6, 2022 to May 5, 2024), all cars were run at a car standard of 2:26:50.
Since Korir was not up to automotive standards, his best time during qualifying was 2 hours 9 minutes 31 seconds. That meant they had to wait to see if the U.S. would finish third in the world rankings for an Olympic berth.
Korir's chances looked very good when the qualifying window closed on Sunday. “Road to Paris” No. 3 on American list; CJ Albertsonwas ranked 73rd, and the top 80 men earned Olympic spots. Corir appeared to be a strong bet to go to Paris, as Albertson's spot would go to Corir under World Athletics' new quota redistribution rules.
However, there was one final hurdle to clear. Countries that do not have qualified athletes in any track and field event (listed by gender) can compete with their highest-ranked athlete in either the 100m, 800m or marathon.These spots, known as universal locations, will be added to the field in front Athletes qualify based on their world rankings. (LetsRun.com wrote more about this in January).
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Olympic field size is to be limited to 80 athletes, and according to World Athletics' Olympic qualification document, athletes who qualify via the universal quota will also be counted towards that number. Ru.
Given that only one man has competed in the 2020 Olympic marathon via Universal, many people, including LetsRun.com, believe it is safe for Corir to compete in Paris. I did. But World Athletics ultimately awarded 11 universal spots, dropping Albertson to 84th on the Road to Paris list.
Olympic quotas can only be expanded beyond 80 to allow for automatic qualification or universal quotas. Currently, 97 athletes (88 standard and 9 universal) are scheduled to compete in the women's competition, while 81 athletes (70 standard and 11 universal) are scheduled to compete in the men's competition. It's a schedule.
When World Athletics announced its Olympic qualifying system in December 2022, the goal was for 50% of qualifying to be based on entry standards and the remaining 50% based on world rankings. Currently, there are no athletes eligible to participate in either the men's or women's marathon based on their world rankings.
Below are some FAQs regarding this situation.
Is there any way Korir can compete in Paris?
Korir's chances of competing in this year's Olympics took a big hit Wednesday, but his coach scott simmons I haven't given up on the possibility.
One way Corir could compete is if three federations decline his participation in the Olympic marathon. But this is likely to be a long game, forcing a series of injuries to players from countries without qualified replacements.
Simmons also told LetsRun.com that he sent an email to the USOPC Athlete Ombudsman. Casey Wallace I spoke to key USATF officials about the situation at Korir. Simmons noted that it is too early to tell which federations will not have eligible athletes, as eligibility slots for other track and field competitions do not close until June 30.
For example, Cyprus was given universal marathon status, even though Cyprus has a top 110m hurdles athlete. Milan Trajković Who is likely to qualify? (Trajković is ranked 20th on the Road to Paris list, with 40 people qualifying in the 110 hurdles).Uruguay was also given universal status as a long jumper. Emilano Lasa currently ranks 21st on the Road to Paris list (with 32 athletes qualifying in the long jump).
Simmons also pointed out that federations must provide evidence of “the skill level and international participation of the nominated players.”One universal athlete was unable to break 2 hours and 20 minutes during the qualifying period (Jordan's Moas Alhawarde) On the other hand, people who have never run a marathon (from Sudan Yaseen Abdallahhas a personal record of 13:33 in the 5,000m).
USATF spokesperson Aarti Parekh LetsRun.com says USATF is still working to get answers and will share more information as it becomes available. World Athletics did not immediately respond to questions from LetsRun.com.
How did that happen?
Most observers were surprised to see 11 universal positions achieved in the marathon. In 2016 there were only four universality slots awarded in the men's marathon, but in 2020 there was only one. Why was this number so high in 2024?
The reason for this is that the World Athletics Federation has changed the rules for universal qualification for the 2024 Olympics. Previously, universal rankings could be awarded in any event except the steeplechase, 10,000 meters or decathlon. However, for 2024, the World Athletics Federation says that spots can only be earned in the 100m, 800m, and marathon, and the universal 800m spot is limited to three in total, and most of the spots are in the 100m, 800m, and marathon races. It was announced that this meant it had to be used in the marathon. . The problem for bubble athletes like Korir is that no one knew until Wednesday how many spots they would be given.
Koril, a 2016 10,000m Olympian, did everything he could to qualify for this spring, running the Rotterdam Marathon on April 14, just 10 weeks after the trials, and completing the Automotive Standard 2. I attempted a time of 8 minutes and 10 seconds. Korir fell short in that race with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 47 seconds.
Who qualified through Universal Place?
With 11 universal spots out of a total of 80 spots, 14% of the 2024 Olympic marathon field will currently be made up of universal athletes.Universal locations ranged from North Macedonia Dario IvanovskyIn Seville in February, he missed the automotive standard by just 16 seconds from Sudan's Yaseen Abdallah. Abdallah, a 22-year-old NCAA competitor from the University of Tennessee, has never raced over 10,000 meters.
So why was Abdallah given universal status? Tennessee assistant coach nick jacobsen He told LetsRun.com that Sudan likely submitted Abdallah's name because Abdallah is Sudan's top-ranked athlete in any event in the world rankings for the 5,000 meters, as well as the 100 meters and 800 meters. He said it made more sense to submit names for marathons rather than meters.
Here's a look at which athletes earned universal spots and their best marathon performances during the qualifying period.
athlete | Country | Q Best Marathon in Window |
Dario Ivanovsky | north macedonia | 2:08:26 (Seville 2024) |
Han Il-ryong | north korea | 2:09:42 (Wuxi 2024) |
Amin Qadiri | cyprus | 2:10:20 (Seville 2023) |
Samuel Freire | cape verde | 2:11:01 (2024 Seville) |
Cristian Zamora | Uruguay | 2:11:02 (Seville 2023) |
jordan gasman | malta | 2:13:13 (Chicago 2023) |
Ilya Chapkin | Kyrgyzstan | 2:17:05 (2024 Hannover) |
Eduardo Terrence Garcia | virgin islands | 2:17:09 (2023 McCurdy Micro) |
Valentin Betoji | chad | 2:18:20 (Valencia 2023) |
Moas Alhawarde | Jordan | 2:21:17 (Berlin 2023) |
Yaseen Abdallah | sudan | none |
The number of athletes each country qualified for the Olympics is as follows:
Corir's current predicament is due to the fact that only two American men ran the car in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 10 seconds between November 6, 2022 and May 5, 2024. Because it was. At least three men in 14 countries ran under this time limit. The United States was not among them. With the qualification slots closed, let's take a look at all the countries where he has at least two automatic qualifiers in the marathon. We would like to remind you that each country can only have a maximum of three athletes participating in the Olympics.
72 – Kenya
62 – Ethiopia
27 – Japan
13 – Eritrea
8 – Morocco
6 – France
5 – Uganda, Spain, Italy, Israel
4 – Germany, China
3 – Belgium, UK
2 – USA, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, Tanzania
Conclusion by Robert Johnson of LRC
The more I analyzed this, the more I came to conclude that this is not good for Korir. Simmons' argument for universal status makes some sense, even though Cyprus and Uruguay have two athletes who could qualify in other events. But even if they were removed, that would only move Albertson/Corir up to #82, and he would need to move up two more spots.
That said, it's also understandable why Washington State would want to officially declare its entry into the marathon field now, rather than waiting until the end of the qualifying period for other events (June 30th). It seems unfair to marathoners to choose the Olympic marathon squad on June 30th. Would he want to give marathon runners six weeks to prepare for the Olympics? If they want to run well, they want to start training now, but let them train now and pull the rug out from under them at the end of June. Some people may think that is cruel.
I also have no problem adding Yaseen Abdallah, who has not run a marathon, to the field. He has short distance PRs of 7:42/13:33/28:33. He is not a vulgar person who should be embarrassed.
Corir can always count on some absences from eligible players or those who test positive for doping, but the problem with that idea is that the quota reallocation system means that each country has no more than two points for injured players. That means he can be replaced with another player who ran. 11:30 (Personally, I believe that the estimate redistribution system should only apply to countries that hold trial races).
Another tricky situation involves Bahrain Marius Kimutai. Kimutai set the Olympic standard time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 06 seconds at the Barcelona Marathon in March 2023, and solidified his status when the first group of 64 participants was decided on January 30th. However, Kimutai later tested positive for EPO. Kimutai took a competitive test on February 2, 2024, and accepted a three-year suspension that will take effect on March 28, 2024. It is unclear whether Kimutai will be completely removed from the Road to Paris list or whether Bahrain will be able to reallocate his slot.with someone like Abdi Ali Gerertsch He has a PR of 2:08:22 and won in Copenhagen last weekend in 2:09:12.
Even if Kimutai is removed and Uruguay and Cyprus don't get the universal slots, Korir and Albertson would be 81st on the Road to Paris list, meaning Korir would need one more withdrawal. Become.
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MB: Breaking news: Leonard Korir won't go to Paris! 11 universal athletes will enter before him!