Volume XXXVII Number 35 June (1), 2012 JAKE ARNOLD’S 7840 at TGA False Starts and Field Sizes Hello Again…This is our first Newsletter of likely Trials qualifier, June, 2012 and we’ll provide coverage fo the now staning tied for 14th. weekend meets, comments on the new false Next week’s NCAA I start rule and an examination of the and San Diego qualifier size/composition of fields at the Olympic will be the final two Trials and Olympic Games. meets to influence Trials WEEKEND MEETS qualifying. The first day in Dallas (Texas Matt Johnson earned PR 7721 and Mat rd th Greatest Athlete meet) found Sam Houston Clark’s 7684 was 3 . In 4 , with a 235 point State’s Matt Johnson with a significant lead career best was was former Ivy league champ and fine 4099 score. Looking for a Trials Tim Wunderlich who used PRs in the final 3 qualifier, the TGA meet found notables Jake events (including a 68.42m/22406 javelin) to Arnold, Pat Woods and Mat Clark in total 7636 points. His current Central Missouri contention. Last year’s D-II winner Brent protégé, Brent Vogel also PR’d at 7519. Vogel and one of his Central Missori coaches, Tim Wunderlich, were all piutting up eye- 6/2-3 Texas Greatest Athlete, Dallas, TX 7840 Arnold, Jake/Asics 10.93+1.8 opening numbers. At the break it was: 636+1.2 1378 190 49.96 14.32+2.2 4459 515 5979 4:41.81 Matt Johnson 4099 7721 Johnson, Matt/unat 10.83+1.8 Pat Woods 3938 752+2.7 1269 196 50.33 14.60+2.2 3529 465 5891 4:48.25 Mat Clark 3884 7684 Clark, Mat/unat 10.97+1.8 Brent Vogel 3842 690+0.6 1306 196 50.55 16.07+2.4 4236 475 6391 4:32.06 Jake Arnold 3787 7636 Wunderlich, Tim/unat 11.40+1.7 696+2.0 1451 187 52.41 15.10+2.2 4351 475 6842 4:47.75 Tim Wunderlich 3782 7530 Kinsey, Dan/unat 11.49+1.7 Dan Kinsey 3568 681+0.7 1327 190 53.85 15.21+2.2 4597 505 6233 4:44.56 7519 Vogel, Brent/unat 11.01+1.8 Arnold started day #2 with a 14.32 hurdles win 695+2.2 1223 190 49.29 14.70+2.2 3856 455 5288 4:27.60 7407 Woods, Pat/unat 11.07+1.8 and followed with a 44.59m/146-3 discus. He 665+0.4 1499 205 52.07 14.71+2.2 4387 465 4304 5:01.61 kept the pressure on with a winning 5.15m/16- 6904 Lott, Weston/unat 11.34+1.7 10¾ vault to take a 65 point lead over Johnson 642+8.6 1157 184 51.31 15.96+2.4 3950 475 4770 4:42.73 6720 Frank, John/unat, 6275 Barjon, Jacques/unat, and Woods with Clark, Wunderlich and Vogel 4188 Walker, Darius/C Missouri [10.76+1.7 652+1.4 1240 nh 200 back and bunched withing 28 points of dnf 15.36+2.4 3855 nh 4385 dnf], 11s,11f. one another. A 59.79m/196-2 jave and 4:41.81 1500m gave him a 7840 total, not bad for a guy who had back and hip surgery less than a year ago. Althoug not definite, his score is a DID THE IAAF FALSE START? Some data: the mean reaction time of an international decathlete is 0.18 seconds. That’s The new IAAF false start rule worth 40 to 41 points. If one can force a has elicited predictable negative conservative start from good sprinters/hurdlers comments from the combind by say, just .03 of a second, that’s 7 points. 7 events community. As a points is 7 points and can cetrainly make a reminder….the IAAF rule for difference in place/monetary compensation. CEs charges a false start to the entire field Internationally the coaches/athletes have after one and’dq’s anyone rolling out on the already figured this out and the incidence of second. USATF stated they will not use this false starts has picked up. rule. The good news is that USATF took a The concern of the community is two- good, hard look at this new rule and decided fold. Much like the alteration of the IAAF not to accept it for domestic meets. So, for the wind rule two years ago, it appears no one US Olympic Trials the previous false start rule with CE experince was consulted on the will apply…individual charges…gone on the change in the false start rule. So what’s new? second. Thje major issue coaches and athletes have One must applaud the IAAF for is that the rule provides an incentive to take a attempting to get a handle on the presentaion false start (just the opposite of its intention) problem of sprint starts. That’s fine. But when because slower sprinters/hurdlers gain an applying it to a different type of sprint/hurdle advantage by making quicker competitors play races (i.e., CEs), one whose goals are different, the cautious game at the start. One it causes problems. And the problems will international coach explains…”if my runner surely mount.The moral: one rule does not fit or hurdler is one of the slowest in the field I’ll all. encouage him to guess on the start, just roll An aside: I am old enough to recall the out. If he gets away, so much the better, but if past changes in the decathlon false start rules. he gets caught, then the entire field must be As late as the 1940s decathletes (I once cautious the next time because they all get published a history of decathlon rules) were allowed 3 false starts and disqualified on the charged. I can make them sit.” th The issue may seem like nit-picking 4 !! In the intervening years the rule was but can be quite important because of the modified to minimize all of the decathlon false nature of the event. In open sprints/hurdles the starts (I once saw a decathlete false start in all primary goal is place. But in CEs the goal for four races in the same meet! All four!). the slower runner is to minimize the distance That’s fine but the pendulum has now between himself and faster runners. That’s an swung the other way and actually encourages important distinction because the margin rolling out. Let’s hope the IAAF reconsiders as (differential between runnes) is scored. And if they did with the 2009 wind rule fiasco. one can minimize that margin by forcing I would encourage the IAAF to others to be conservative at the start, all other reconsider….. things equal, an advantage is gained. It is rather obvious that the IAAF did not take this COMPOSITION & SIZE of FIELDS into consideration. And we are already seeing For Olympic Games, Olympic Trials the impact of the rule internationally, At 2012 major CE meets a number of false starts have Onc of my concerns for the London been, well, obvious, as slower runners in races Games is the size of the decathlon field. Hans attempt to take advantage of the new rule. van Kuijen prepared a ‘qualifying sheet’ for the London Games while at Götzis that is US Olympic Trials enlightening and also worrisome. I’ll continue to update this list periodically but the message If the US Olympic Trials started tomorrow this is clear…there will be a BIG field in London. would be the 18 man field. Auto standard is Given the A (8200) and B (7950) standards, 7900. Qualifying period began 1/1/11. there are already 32 qualified. An 8200+ effort Deadline is Sunday, June 17, 2012 by Bryan Clay at the US Trials, assuming he is Bryan Clay unat as defending Olympic champ in top 3) will make the filed 33. And with Ashton Eaton Ore TC 8729 Eugene 6/24/11 Trey Hardee Nike 8689 Götzis 5/29/11 Kladno, Ratingen and Euro Champs coming Mike Morrison California 8118 Des Moines 6/10/11 up my guess is that the field could approach Curtis Beach Duke 8083 Des Moines 6/10/11 Isaac Murphy Texas 8067 Austin 3/29/12 forty. 40! Ryan Harlan unat 8011 Eugene 6/24/11 Miller Moss Clemson 7996 Des Moines 6/10/11 Olympic Games Wesley Bray unat 7932 Austin 3/29/12 Gray Horn Florida 7914 Des Moines 6/10/11 Qualified athletes as per: June 3, 2012 Joe Detmer unat 7910 Columbia 5/18/12 A standard—8200 points Michael Ayers Georgia 7903 Des Moines 6/10/11 Ashton Eaton USA 8729 Eugene 6/24/11 (1 [7900 is auto standard] Trey Hardee USA 8689 Götzis 5/29/11 (1 Jack Szmanda Minnesota 7862 Madison 5/12/12 Hans van Alphen BEL 8519 Götzis 5/27/12 Chris Randolph Sketchers 7840 Santa Barbara 4/3/12 Eelco Sintnicolaas NED 8506 Götzis 5/27/12 Jake Arnold Asics 7840 Dallas 6/5/12 Leonel Suarez CUB 8501 Daegu 8/28/11 Dave Grzesiak Wisconsin 7832 Madison 5/12/12 Pascal Behrenbruch GER 8433 Götzis 5/27/12 Kevin Lazas Arkansas 7802 Des Moines 6/10/11 Mikk Pahapill EST 8398 Götzis 5/27/11 Dakotah Keys Oregon 7793 Eugene 5/6/12 Yordani Garcia CUB 8397 Havana 5/6/11 [18] Sergey Sviridov RUS 8365 Adler 5/8/12 Eric Broadbent HPC-e 7750 Azusa 4/19/12 Aleksey Drozdov RUS 8334 Cheboksary 6/1/11 Jeremy Taiwo Washington 7742 Tucson 5/7/11 Rico Freimuth GER 8322 Götzis 5/27/12 Derek Steinbach Wisconsin 7739 Madison 5/12/12 Edgar Erins LAT 8312 Valmiera 6/4/11 Chris Helwick unat 7736 Eugene 6/24/11 Larbi Bouraada ALG 8302 Ratingen 7/7/11 Matt Johnson unat-SHSU 7721 Dallas 6/5/12 Jan-Felix Knobel GER 8288 Götzis 5/29/11 [23] Mihail Dudas SRB 8256 Daegu 8/28/11 Oleksiy Kasyanov UKR 8251 Götzis 5/29/11 William Coertzen RSA 8244 P Elizabeth 4/14/12 Ingmar Vos BEL 8224 Götzis 5/27/12 Maurice Smith JAM 8214 Guadalajara 10/25/11 (subtotal: 19) B standard—7950 points Dmitry Karpov KAZ 8172 Desanzano 5/6/12 Eduard Mikhan BLR 8152 Ostrava 7/15/11 Romain Barras FRA 8134 Daegu 8/28/11 Luiz A.