The biggest advantage that I think federations give is paying the athletes a coaching stipend and paying for race travel. So that any endorsement deal you make is sorta all bankable income vs having to use that to then pay for travel. WTCS travel is stupid expensive anytime you involve international flights (so less expensive for Euro athletes/federations) and they generally require more days on site at races vs other race distances where you can literally show up day before. I believe the required race meetings are now 2-3 days before the actual race at wtcs level, so your talking usually 4-5 days of lodging requirements. But again the race weeks are generally the “fun” part of the whole lifestyle. You get hang out with your “rivals” all week at the various training locations (usually limited training locations) and the after parties have always been legendary.
There’s no way the money in T100 lasts.
Swimmers are still owed money from the International Swim League from 2022. The same will happen to T100.
The other thing about NGB funded athletes is private health coverage for scans and imaging etc. And then access to elite standard rehab via the elite performance centres.
You could go red bull …
The lose of medical/health support was basically what tipped GJ over the edge to leaving the sport post Rio. Basically asked for a 2 year grace period to “leave” and come back post pregancy for Tokyo and usat scoffed at the idea.
Federations generally have the “power” to do as they want, but a “happy” athlete can be a strong commodity for your federation, so there are times where give an inch helps to gain a mile down the road, if you can play chess well enough. But we’ve all know federations to rather play a head against wall almost seemingly out of spite sometimes with decisions.
It would have been interesting if the pregnancy rules would have been around back then what would have happened to GJ’'s and Knibb’s careers, who basically was biggest benefactor of being able to AQ for Tokyo on a hail mary attempt.
Do you think Knibb would have been given the nod if she hadn’t auto qualified for Tokyo? She was key for the relays but individually do you think they would have selected her if they had a choice?
She has definitely been the best US athlete in recent years
According to OB her coach at the time, they all knew the score and she had to AQ at Yoko which she ddi in order to make the team. She wasn’t a “weapon” even at the MTR at that point in her career, mainly because she was so new to full time circuit since she only raced sparingly during her university years.
She’s been the best and it’s nuts because itu doesn’t even really suit her like non-draft does. It’s also why I think leaving ITU is much easier when the courses continue to suck. If LA created a Bermuda/Rio style course, no way in hell she would leave it like I think she will now. She’d likely easily be the favorite in that type of course scenario, but a parking lot setup eliminate her biggest strength.
But to the point that she wouldn’t have made Tokyo if GJ stayed in the sport, that would have been almost 100% certainity. Of course it also means that Summer Rapp., doesn’t get the AQ spot in that “universe” because she likely wouldn’t have beaten GJ either, so if GJ was still around it would have almost more certainly been:
GJ / KZ (likely both given) + either Spivey or Kasper
Rapp / Knibb would have been in the “must AQ” camp- Knibb’s “MTR weapon” wasn’t really 100% there in Tokyo. She was strong and obviously was a no-brainer over Rapp (everyone knew Rapp would never be on the MTR with her bike weakness issues).
Back to the “federations doing fedderations thing”. I spoke to PTB’s prior to Tokyo about the chance of US “losing” out on 3 men. They told me it was mathematically impossible, and I said it was a real possibility (this was in the fall still 7 months prior to the final events that still counted…but you could see that Hemming was starting to struggle just a little bit and no one else was sorta stepping up). Hell Hemming knew he wasn’t going to make the team unless he pulled a Knibb AQ and proceeded to run a half marathon (which caused him to have an injury). He obviously failed and then US went to him to go to the final qualification world cup to “hold serve” and keep the points (even included a bonus payment to do it). But he basically gave them the middle finger because he still wasn’t going to make the team even if the US had 3 spots (it would have been Matt McElroy). Hemming and McElory even though they were squad mates under OB had lets just call it “difference of opinon” on how to train as teammates and so for Hemming it was no love lose if McElroy got screwed with the US men only getting 2 spots instead of 3.
Start lists are up for the first WTS race of the year.
First challenge is to find them ,
Gotta love it…Click on link for “start lists” under their “quick line” pages and what do you know, it doesn’t take you to start lists.
I can’t find the start list to save my life.
Me either… please share the link!
Convoluted way I got there. Select events, get to a calendar, select February, select actual race, scroll across for start lists, then select men ( or women) then select elite?
Think that is how I got there. So much for new website. Used to be souch easier
From main page scroll down to bottom and select start lists.
Go to event and voila. Stilll a ball ache and much worse than it used to be.
Suspect there are quite a few substitutions going to be made in 10 days.
My goodness. Who approved that site design!? Why do I need all that white space and only 10 names on my laptop screen? No ranking numbers? No points? I can’t be arsed to find out who will race that race. Need someone to step up…
I agree, the site is awful
Site is worse than awful, doesnt even show which countries athletes are from which I looked at frequently when looking at waitlist. Finding all events for a quick look is near impossible… Hate it, and it isn’t just as it is new, it is not user friendly for the info needed.
Also noted, still no Aus women on start list, wonder when they think they will get some starters…
I can’t see a ‘start lists’ to select at the bottom of the main page??
Me neither
Anyway, noticed the following:
Only one British woman - Kate Waugh
Five British men, including Yee?
Top French women and men not there.
Hayden Wilde there