Tarmoh quits

Dave-O wrote:Numerous reporters and outlets on Twitter have been saying that Tarmoh refuses to acknowledge it was a dead heat, and the meetings last night involved her challenging the finish photo. Her refusal to participate in the run-off seems consistent with her position that she won and thus should not have to run again.

Translation: There's a lawsuit coming.

Nick Morris wrote:

Dave-O wrote:Numerous reporters and outlets on Twitter have been saying that Tarmoh refuses to acknowledge it was a dead heat, and the meetings last night involved her challenging the finish photo. Her refusal to participate in the run-off seems consistent with her position that she won and thus should not have to run again.

Translation: There's a lawsuit coming.

Bingo

Dave-O wrote:That picture? No.

From what I've read, she is claiming there is another picture that shows she won. I am not privy to her exact argument or what picture she claims shows a decisive winner. So I will withhold my opinion as of now.

I will say though that the "cleanest" result for the USATF is to send Felix in the 200m and Tarmoh in the 100m. With that in mind, I have a hard time believing such a picture exists because it would give the USATF the out they need. Again though, I will wait and see what else we learn.

healdgator wrote:

The USATF has proven they aren't competent, imo. They should have forced a runoff last monday and put the matter to bed. Instead, they come up with just about the worst "solution" they can find.

I swear to god, you would think 100m is an ironman triathalon from listening to some of these sprinters.

The nine-day drama surrounding Allyson Felix's and Jeneba Tarmoh's 100-meter dash dead heat at the U.S. Olympic Trials has come to a surprisingly early end after Tarmoh withdrew Monday from a scheduled run-off.In a statement issued Monday, U.S. Track and Field confirmed that Tarmoh had sent them an email declining her place in the run-off and conceding the final 100-meter qualification spot to Felix.
“I
Jeneba Tarmoh have decided to decline my 3rd place position in the 100m
dash to Allyson Felix," the email read. "I understand that with this
decision I am no longer running the 100m dash in the Olympic Games and
will be an alternate for the event.
"As an alternate I understand
that I will be asked to run if another 100m runner decides not to for
personal reasons, and/or on the 4x100m relay.”
According to a statement made by Tarmoh's agent to NBC
earlier Monday, her concession from the run-off does not in fact mean
she has abandoned her hopes of running the 100 in London, though it is
unclear how she might still stake her claim. An appeal to the U.S.
Olympic Committe or even legal action could be forthcoming.
"The situation has been difficult for everyone involved," Felix said in a statement.
"I wanted to earn my spot on this team and not have it conceded to me
so I share in everyone's disappointment that this runoff will not
happen. All I can do now is turn my focus to London.”
The run-off had been scheduled for Monday evening
with the agreement of all involved parties, and would have been
broadcast live by NBC, becoming potentially the the most-talked event in
American track since Beijing. But Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden reported that as of Sunday night,
Jarmoh had changed her mind and had told USATF officials -- who were
asking her to reconsider -- that she would not participate.
Layden
reported that the 22-year-old Tarmoh had been left "exhausted" by the
cloud of uncertainty surrounding the dead heat, and embittered by what
she sees as unfair treatment by the USATF.
"In my heart of hearts, I just feel like I earned the third spot. I almost feel like I was kind of robbed," she told the Associated Press after
Sunday's run-off announcement. "I was pushed into a corner. They said
if you don't make a decision, you give your spot up. I work too hard to
just give my spot up. I had to say it was a runoff."
Tarmoh's high school coach, Steve Nelson, told the San Jose Mercury-News that she feels the USATF has given Felix favorable treatment at the behest of its corporate partners.
"This
is a Nike and NBC Sports deal," Nelson said. "This is Jeneba against
the world. She feels like it's everybody against her."
"We want
the same rules followed now as they have in previous years," Nelson
added, suggesting that Tarmoh's chest crossed the line ahead of Felix's,
despite photographic evidence to the contrary. "Why should rules change
now because Allyson Felix is great?"
Although Felix competed in
the 200-meter dash in both Athens and Beijing and won a gold medal as
part of the U.S. 4x100 relay team in 2008, this would be her first
Olympic qualification in the 100. Tarmoh has never been to the Olympics,
no doubt making the USATF back-and-forth even more difficult to
swallow.
Per Layden, photo finish judge Roger Jennings named
Tarmoh the third-place finisher by .001 seconds immediately following
the June 23 100-meter final, but just as immediately asked USATF officials to review that decision.
While USATF considered (and eventually approved) an overrule of
Jennings' decision, Tarmoh conducted the traditional victory lap and
postrace interviews as the third-place finisher and first-time Olympic
qualifier.
So we don't blame Tarmoh a bit for being unhappy with
that spot -- and that joy -- being snatched away after the fact, and she
has even more reason than most to be angry with USATF's failure to have
a protocol in place ahead of time to deal with the situation.
But
in the end, USATF's hands are tied (pun intended). When even the
now-famous 3,000-frames-per-second finish line photo can't separate the
two, simply declaring one or the other the victor (or defaulting to
Jennings' hasty decision) wouldn't have been any more fair to Felix than
what's happened to Tarmoh was to her.
So why withdraw? Maybe
because it's the only way Tarmoh knew how to protest her treatment, the
only bargaining chip she'd felt she'd been left with in her
"corner"--losing the run-off is undeniably a substantial blow to both
NBC and the USATF, who again are left scrambling after nearly seeing
their week of Trials coverage conclude in the most dramatic (and
TV-friendly) fashion possible.
But the bottom line -- whatever the
merit (or lack of) to Tarmoh's grievances -- is that, barring some
bureaucratic stunner, Tarmoh has willingly given up a dream she has
worked years upon years for without a fight. She has abandoned a place
in one of the Olympics' most glamorous events without even attempting to
win it back. It's a decision we worry she may come to regret sooner
rather than later.

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:

The USATF has proven they aren't competent, imo. They should have forced a runoff last monday and put the matter to bed. Instead, they come up with just about the worst "solution" they can find.

I swear to god, you would think 100m is an ironman triathalon from listening to some of these sprinters.

And jeopardize their performance in the 200m? Now that would have been a dumb decision.

healdgator wrote:
She is getting incredibly bad advice, or her agents/handlers are great at toeing the party line.

Hey, in my heart of hearts I feel like I came in third place in the women's 100m. I wonder if I can get an injunction?

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:
She is getting incredibly bad advice, or her agents/handlers are great at toeing the party line.

Hey, in my heart of hearts I feel like I came in third place in the women's 100m. I wonder if I can get an injunction?

You have an incredible ability to reach absolute conclusions without having all the facts.

healdgator wrote:Sorry, got my days confused. Runoff should have been last sunday. Day after the 100m finals. Same day as the 400m finals.

healdgator wrote:

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:
She is getting incredibly bad advice, or her agents/handlers are great at toeing the party line.

Hey, in my heart of hearts I feel like I came in third place in the women's 100m. I wonder if I can get an injunction?

You have an incredible ability to reach absolute conclusions without having all the facts.

This is a message board, nothing more. I hadn't noticed "having all the facts" being a prerequisite for posting on this, or any other, board.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:I don't get her decision. If she feels that she won, then go prove it - simple as that to me.

Dave-O wrote:

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:I don't get her decision. If she feels that she won, then go prove it - simple as that to me.

If there's evidence she won (again, not saying there is, but willing to see), then she shouldn't have to.

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:Sorry, got my days confused. Runoff should have been last sunday. Day after the 100m finals. Same day as the 400m finals.

So what happens if this was a 400m? Still don't need time to recover? What about the 1500, or even the 10k?

You can't just throw these athletes into more races on a whim. They train specifically for the length of time between heats and events. If I was an agent, there's no way I would let my athlete get diverted from the schedule that had been in place for months.

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:
She is getting incredibly bad advice, or her agents/handlers are great at toeing the party line.

Hey, in my heart of hearts I feel like I came in third place in the women's 100m. I wonder if I can get an injunction?

You have an incredible ability to reach absolute conclusions without having all the facts.

This is a message board, nothing more. I hadn't noticed "having all the facts" being a prerequisite for posting on this, or any other, board.

I find it strange when someone is willing to reach an opinion/conclusion without knowing all the facts.

What if, for example, her hamstrings have been bothering her since the 200's, and she's not 100% to run another 100m tonight? Is it still bad advice to refuse to run another unplanned race?

But by all means, have a blast on your jump to conclusions mat.

healdgator wrote:
I will. I'll also be willing to change my mind if new facts come to light. At least you can feel secure in the moral superiority that comes with not weighing it until "all the facts are in".

Dave-O wrote:

healdgator wrote:
I will. I'll also be willing to change my mind if new facts come to light. At least you can feel secure in the moral superiority that comes with not weighing it until "all the facts are in".

I didn't claim any moral superiority. I am just trying to explain why Tarmoh's refusal to abide by the USATF's post hoc "run-off or coin flip" decision makes her neither a quitter nor a wuss, as you called her.