Even if Norway can get one of the two MTR places on offer at Huatulco, the route for Iden to Paris is ephemeral. I really can't see NTF emotionally choosing him over Thorn (see Lievin and #29 on the Oly Q list) or even Stornes.
He has to validate his slot for Kona (and anyway race a 70.3 to validate for Taupo). Selection of IM Pro Series races for those will set him up for the IM Pro Series win - probably would need to race Frankfurt as a second IM.

I would guess technically Iden would have a better conversation piece if Norway DIDN'T MTR qualify than if they did. If they did they almost certainly can't pick him with Thorn's and Stornes MTR abilities (deciding among 1 of them; Thorn likely 99% guranteed). If they don't qualify he could atleast bring up, no one can medal out of Thorns-Stornes-Iden at this point, so pick the "Norwegian Method" fan favorite to go with Blu.

Norway men are getting 2 men slots regardless of MTR.

(But no, his chances pretty much were done basically all of last year when he struggled- yes he had personal struggles).

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

From Gwen thread
Olympics is a world wide sports competition. Do you wish to exclude many athletes from nations across the world by just going on rankings? Because that would be the effect. A subsidiary effect would be to generate team tactics (and domestique-type activity) in the individual by the nations who might have 4 or even 5 thus included. We've already seen that with the set maximum of 3 per nation.
Enjoy Paris 2024: it'll be the last time we see a proper 100+ minute triathlon at the Olympic Games, echoing Brooks' mantra.
"WT to decide of they want to prioritize individuals vs team relay and athletes vs federations": they have decided and strike the current balance. For LA28 they'll "decide": sprint distance (with MTR half that). Much better for tv, and after all, what criterion is more important.
"In athletics, if you fulfill the IAAF criteria you are in" - think you are comprehensively mistaken: there are nation limits for every event (same for swimming). (NB IAAF is not a 'thing' now btw.)
https://www.triathlon.org/...qualification/female

I completely agree, it's absolutely ridiculous that potentially GB women (for example) who won WTS races last year won't go to the Olympics.

Pre Tokyo we had Ali Brownlee desperate to qualify and this time round Gwen (two gold medalists)

Then we've got athletes who'll be at the Olympics who's best results have been top 30s or something at WC events who are just happy to be there.

This is just going to lead to GB, France, USA etc athletes racing for other nations (I'm amazed this hasn't happened already)

Olympics should have the best athletes?

it's always been like that when you have a country or countries dominating sports. look at all of the top ranked usa 110hh men, kenyan steeplers or usa swimmers that have been left off teams over the years. how about sports like wrestling or boxing in which a country only gets 1 person even if it has the #1 and #2 people in the world? the bigger issue is that the federations are not providing a fair way for athletes to qualify with stupidly high standards that they know won't be hit so it will be 100% discretionary. usa should at least protect the #1 ranked male and female and guarantee them spots. that would protect spivey and matt m this cycle.

Loads of Kenyans etc already race for other nations don't they?

Then you have rich Arab countries cherry picking these athletes?

I'm sure no one wants to see their young athletes think my best chance of making the Olympics is racing for Saudi, UAE etc?

Pre Tokyo you had a UK Athlete racing himself into the ground in order to earn the UK a third spot, a spot everyone said would go to Alistair Brownlee. A spot he did not rightfullly earn. Tom Bishop was out there trying to do it for them and came up short when his body gave up.

Sure, Alistair Brownlee had podium potential. But he also should have been moved on by the Federation so they could build to the future.

Same thing here with USAT, you have a bunch of women who have grinded for the past several years and then Gwen gets parachuted in and received federation support?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

The main issue though in WTCS; there are only dozen or so federations who actually care about triathlon and paying athletes. Like the new federation you move to has to have the funding or ability to fund you to travel 5-8 times around the world. Now to your point, it's a wonder these Middle Eastern countries don't start to sneakily get more athletes to join them if they have the money to support it. So that would kinda be the issue- if Spivey moved to racing for Costa Rica, they wouldn't fund her to get to any races, so if she skips a bunch of races, suddenly she'd have zero scores and then wouldnd't make the olympics anyways, especially as you have to be with the new federation at the start of the olympic Q period. (that's sorta likely a sneakly fail safe measure they put in, to keep athletes from just bouncing around).

Barbados or DR or Cuba or Tonga aint asking athletes to come race for them; they aint got the funds to support that. So then the athletes would only lose out. But it's a wonder one of these Middle Eastern countries hasn't gotten someone to transfer alliegances to them with their likely oil money (likely male first with their culture rules).

@StroBro- GJ earned her national team spot the same way every other team member did- through the policy pathway that I believe is either at top of this page or previous page. I believe for any WTCS race, you get the travel covered regardless if you are national team member or not. WC and below I believe is more they reimburse if you podium type; unless your national team in which I believe your travel is then covered.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Spivey has a Canadian passport through her mother doesn’t she? I am surprised she didn’t switch. Lahair switched from France to Luxemberg (might be another country?).

I believe you're thinking of Kristen Kasper but for her too it's a surprise she hasn't jumped ship.

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Particularly Kirsten K as her partner us Canadian too.

I believe you're thinking of Kristen Kasper but for her too it's a surprise she hasn't jumped ship. //

No he is right, Spivey's mom is Canadian and she could have flipped over after that last debacle for her. But she is sticking it out and fighting for one of the hardest spots in triathlon. She grew up on the beaches here in LA and lifeguarded since she was a nipper, so no doubt feels some stronger connection to the US..

She swam at Wisconsin her first two years there. My 2 minutes of sleuthing haven’t revealed what events she swam, but you can’t be awful and swim B1G. Do you think the stiff ankles were always there, came with the switch to collegiate running, or came with the switch to pro running?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

She did the 500 in around 5:05 I recall. She was not as fast as D3 swimmer Sarah True (then Goff).

I can only guess but I suspect the running caused the problem. I’m not guessing about the ankle flexion being a problem though. You can actually see it most on the push off the walls/ dive into the water.

some do and the rest of the world has gotten better at the steeple so kenya doesn't dominate like it used to. i just randomly looked at 2008 and 5 of the top 7 men were kenyan:

https://worldathletics.org/...p;ageCategory=senior

by far the biggest issue is that most countries have set stupid standards to all but ensure that there will be many discretionary picks, which is a bad thing. you DON'T want career bureaucrats picking olympic teams. the teams should be picked by the athletes themselves even if you don't like the objective way(s) it is done (e.g., top 3 at olympic trials or winner of olympic trials or rankings or top finisher in a race). yokohama should be first american without the extra requirement of a podium. a spot should go to the highest ranked athlete at the end of the qualification period. you shouldn't be using races in which only 5 americans can start and there are 6 or 7 legitimate contenders. it would be much fairer to have picked miami and said first american gets a spot there and have everyone duke it out there because every american could race there.

what we have now is more than half of the eventual usa team flying all over the world chasing points and races this spring, which is a terrible lead up to performing their best in the actual olympics.

I think the tough thing in a sport like triathlon is that unless you have an test event, race tactics very much can be manipulated by the course profile. So I kinda feel like it's a no brainer......if you have a test event, which the sport does- 1st person on your team should win a spot. That's competition 101, that's human competition since we were caveman....You beat me, you are better. It's funny both Knibb and Pearson got in on now what will be the easiest pathway of all the Americans, and neither even podiumed, the now standard everyone else is held too.

I've sorta agreed with your pathway
AQ- top spot
top ranking spot
discretion spot

Now I get it, federations want medals, but more imporantly then that. Those decision makers want to keep their job, so they scheme up all these elaborate pathways so that they can eseentially act in fail safe manners in the end.

I kinda would rather they just go to a standardized pathway for all federations. It's crazy that what for GB you had to podium at both the test event and GF to "AQ"? Like what the fuck, that's such a high bar.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Fastest time I can find for gj with a quick search was 5:02. Groff's fastest I saw was a 5:01. So they were actually pretty comparable...

The Olympic games is not all about having the best athletes: The three values of olympism are excellence, respect and friendship. They constitute the foundation on which the olympic movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.

We all know this spirit is hanging on by a thread. But it’s gone forever if you don’t allow for developmental spots.

The interesting part about this. Germany just prior to Rio decided against sending their "pack fodder" male athletes (a few easily qualified) and gave up their federation spots. They went with the idea that if they aren't there to compete for medals or FOP, it was a "waste" of resources. 2 olympics later they have what 4 males in top 30, and 5 females in the top 30.

Now I think even back then I said, that I hoped all the leaders of that federation lost their jobs just as much for failing as the athletes did. I dont follow GER federation news closely as other countries, but that decision certainly was a kick in the pants to get their shit together.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Yokohama start lists are out

https://triathlon.org/...ies_yokohama1/627955

No wait lists at the moment due to be updated 12th April.

they had not decied against atheltes but one athelte had challenged for not being selcted and went to court and then the german oly commitee only send anne haug to rio . had nothing to do with federation.

i guess germany learned from that and i would think they have the clearest most simple selcetion criteria now of any nation.

There's some serious bike firepower there with Waugh, Lindemann, Kingma, Coldwell, Lehair, Spivey, Knibb and a few others who will potentially make the bike pace tough for Gwen J. to follow. If she can, it will be a real statement regarding improved fitness.

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

She'll be lucky if the chase group is within even 60s of the front group. She showed us in the indoor race she's not there with her bike power. Doesn't mean she still wont run through lots of people and likely lots of American front pack athletes. The past few years the key front group in this race has been 90+ s and ~2:30+ ahead. With that firepower, there's no indication that type of gap won't continue unless something really wonky occurs. I odn't even know if she'll be in a position of actually making the front group at the mount line, she may be sorta stuck in the 1st chaase pack even there, seconds behind the front group.

On the US men- no Seth Rider (for now). I didn't think he would AQ but he's a front pack athlete that can add some firepower to force Matt to feel it a bit more before the run. I do not think Matt podiums here regardless.....sighs.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

What is the day for substitutes?
I've learnt start lists aren't really real this year , until at least then.
At least for the British men. I have a feeling that Barclay Izzard is injured ( he's been on and then pulled from a lot of start lists)
Will Alex Yee race Yokohama? Or is he a 'place holder"
Not sure how many substitutions a federation can have.