Craig Masback's Blog

Number 3 - Tuesday, August 28, 2007

One of the "perks" of my job is to witness behind-the-scenes aspects of World Championship events. Some of these moments add special texture to the experience, such as a medal-winning athlete seeing a family member for the first time after a race. A less emotionally moving but equally interesting experience is participating in the frenzy of trying to bring clarity to the outcome of a race via the IAAF's official protest and appeal procedures. This was last night's behind-the-scenes experience in the aftermath of the women's 100 meters.

I was in the stadium for the 100, the outcome of which upset everyone's form charts and clearly strained local officials charged with determining the winner and informing spectators of the results. After the finish, things descended into chaos as the athletes and fans stood looking at the results board. First, Torri Edwards, who clearly hadn't won, was posted as the winner with Lauryn Williams second. Then, Torri's name disappeared and Lauryn's name moved to the top of the scoreboard, but with a "2" next to it. Then the screen went blank. Finally, a result was posted with Jamaica's Veronica Campbell the winner, Lauryn second, Carmelita Jeter third, and Torri Edwards fourth.

My phone exploded with calls from various people urging that we protest the outcome. When I talked to team officials, they were already in the room where appeals are filed reviewing the relevant rules. Before discussing this further, let me congratulate the women in the race for a stirring battle and exciting outcome. I was especially impressed by Lauryn Williams, who basically stunned the world by getting better round-by-round in Osaka, eventually coming within 3/1000ths of the victory. A lesser athlete might have given up on a season beset by challenges. Lauryn stuck with her training plan and got ready when it counted. She is the epitome of the "big race" athlete who runs her best when the most is at stake. But I digress.

After race results are posted, teams have 30 minutes to start the protest/appeal process. U.S. Team Officials were well into the process of drafting a protest document, essentially a list of questions that is supposed to help clarify the outcome. Depending on the dialog that follows the "protest" discussion, the team can file a formal "appeal" to the Jury of Appeals, or leave the results as they stand (only the "appeal" represents a challenge to the outcome of the race, the protest discussion is just that, a discussion to reveal whether a formal appeal makes sense).

Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that the document drafted by the Team officials was very detailed and specific and resulted in a very helpful discussion with local and IAAF officials (who were extraordinarily patient and professional in very highly charged circumstances). When Team Officials had a chance to review the two different photofinish camera angles (both of which are available on the IAAF's website), it was clear that Campbell had won and Williams was second. At that point, Team officials discussed the details with Lauryn and her coach Amy Deem, both of whom agreed that a formal appeal would accomplish nothing.

I was incredibly impressed by how Lauryn and Amy handled the situation. It had to be terribly frustrating for them to come within 3/1000ths of a victory after a season littered with obstacles, and then lose. Yet, they handled it all with grace and class, expressing the thanks to those who had followed all the steps on their behalf to get to the final determination and her congratulations to Veronica and Jamaica.

At 2 am, Lauryn and Amy finally made it back to the U.S. Team hotel where they were greeted by 30 team members and officials who toasted her accomplishment. True to form, she thanked all those who made her success possible and said she couldn't wait until the next big race.

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Craig A. Masback is the Chief Executive Officer of USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the organization has more than 90,000 members throughout the country. Masback is responsible for overseeing programs ranging from youth track and field, to selecting teams to represent the United States at the Olympic Games and World Championships, to administering programs for age 40+ masters runners.