Selection Procedures

Revised

1. Selection System - 2004 Olympic Team
   1. Process for selecting competitors to attend selection events

      The trials for selection to the 2004 Olympic Team will be the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field held in Sacramento, CA July 9-18, 2004 for all events except the men's and women's marathon and the men's 50 km race walk. The women's marathon team will be selected at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, April 3, 2004; the men's marathon team will be selected at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, February 7, 2004. The men's 50 km race walk team will be selected at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's 50 km Race Walk to be held in Chula Vista, California, February 15, 2004.

      Track & Field Events: To qualify to participate in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track and Field, an athlete must have achieved a qualifying mark established by USATF in a national or international meet which is sanctioned or recognized by either USATF or the IAAF and is conducted under the rules of same. Such a qualifying mark must be achieved during a time period prescribed by the USATF Men's and Women's Track & Field Committees.

      Marathon: To qualify to participate in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's/Women's Marathon, an athlete must have achieved a qualifying mark established by USATF in a national or international race which is sanctioned or recognized by either USATF or the IAAF and is conducted under the rules of same. Such a qualifying mark must be achieved during a time period prescribed by the USATF Long Distance Running Committees. The first opportunity to qualify for U.S. men and women was at their respective 2001 USA Marathon Championships, which were held at the New York City Marathon on November 4, 2001. The qualifying window opened on January 1, 2002 and will close 30 days before the Olympic Trials race. The U.S. "A" standard is 2:20:00 for men and 2:39:59 for women. The U.S. "B" standard is 2:22:00 for men and 2:48:00 for women.

      Men's 50 km Race Walk: To qualify to participate in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's 50 km Race Walk, an athlete must have achieved a qualifying mark established by USATF in a national or international race which is sanctioned or recognized by either USATF or the IAAF and is conducted under the rules of same. Such a qualifying mark must be achieved during a time period prescribed by the USATF Race Walk Committee.

   2. Procedures by which athletes will be selected for nomination to the team

      IAAF Requirements:

      • The U. S. is allowed to enter up to 3 athletes per event provided they have all met the IAAF "A" qualifying standard. This standard must be met between January 1, 2003 (September 1, 2002 for marathon) and August 9, 2004. (The top 20 finishers in the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics marathon event are considered to be "A" qualifiers)
      • The U.S. may enter only 1 athlete per event if she/he has met the IAAF "B" qualifying standard. This standard must be met between January 1, 2003 (September 1, 2002 for marathon) and August 9, 2004.
      • The U.S. must submit no more than four athletes by name on July 21, 2004 in each individual event. For relays, an additional three athletes may be nominated for the 4x100m and another three additional athletes for the 4x400m (see Section II). Only these athletes may subsequently be entered into the competition and thereby become official Olympic Team nominees, based upon the qualifying standards met by these individual athletes by the qualification deadline on August 9, 2004.

      Individual Event Selections

      The following criteria will be used to nominate athletes to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team:
      1) an athlete's rank order of finish in a designated event at the Olympic Trials; and
      2) the number of athletes that have achieved the Olympic "A" qualification standard.

      1. Rank Order of Finish: All athletes competing in an Olympic Trials event will be assigned a rank based upon the order of finish for that event. An athlete must finish¹ each event in which she/he is entered (declared) in order to be assigned a rank. Rank order of finish for an individual event will be established as follows:
         • Running events: 1) Athletes competing in the final round of competition will be assigned a rank based upon their place-finish in the finals: 2) Athletes participating in the semifinal round of competition will be assigned a rank based upon the fastest times achieved in the semifinal round; and 3) Athletes finishing in a preliminary round of competition will be assigned a rank based upon the fastest time achieved in the preliminary rounds. An athlete's final ranking will be based upon the highest round completed by an athlete.
         • Field events: 1) Athletes participating in the final round of competition will be assigned a rank based upon their place-finish in the finals; 2) Athletes finishing the qualifying rounds of competition will be assigned a rank based upon the athlete's best mark. An athlete's ranking will be based upon the highest round completed by an athlete. If there is a tie in a field event, excluding the high jump and pole vault, the tie will be broken by selecting the athlete with the best second mark. Ties in the high jump and pole vault will be broken by a jump off, to the extent that it is necessary to nominate a team member in that particular event.
      2. Olympic "A" Standard: The number of athletes who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard in a designated event will determine the number of athletes who will be nominated (up to 3) to the U.S. Olympic Team for that event.

         For all events

         1. No later than July 18, 2004, USATF will nominate to the USOC the names of four athletes in each individual event. These athletes are then considered to be Candidates for the Olympic Team. Only these athletes may subsequently be entered to compete and thereby become official Olympic Team members, based upon the qualifying standard met by these individual athletes.
         2. These four Candidates are selected by virtue of their place of finish at the Olympic Trials and qualifying standards that they have achieved after January 1, 2003 or September 1, 2002 (for marathon only).
         3. For all events except the marathon, if there are four or more athletes who have achieved the "A" standard in an event, then the top four "A" qualifiers will be nominated as Candidates in rank order of finish from the Olympic Trials. For the marathon, the winner of the Olympic Trials (if they have achieved the "A" or "B" standard) and the top three "A" standard finishers at the Trials will be nominated as Candidates (see section B, "d")
         4. For all events except the marathon, if there are fewer than four athletes who have achieved the "A" standard, then all those who have achieved the "A" standard will be nominated as Candidates. To fill out the list of four Candidates, the highest place finishers who have achieved the "B" standard will be nominated in order of finish at the Olympic Trials. If there are not enough "B" standard athletes to fill the list of four Candidates, then the highest place finishers at the Olympic Trials who are without a standard will be added to the list of four Candidates in order of finish at the Olympic Trials. In the marathon, the winner of the Olympic Trials (if they have at least achieved the B standard) will always be nominated as a Candidate.
         5. All athletes who are listed as Olympic Team Candidates on July 18, 2004 will have until August 9, 2004 to achieve an IAAF qualifying mark ("A" or "B" standard). Only these athletes may subsequently be nominated to the Olympic Team, based upon the qualifying standard met by these individual athletes.

         At the close of the qualifying period on August 9, 2004, the Olympic Team will be determined based upon qualifying standards met by the Candidates:

         For all events except the marathon

         1. If two or more athlete Candidates in an event have met the Olympic "A" standard by August 9, 2004, those athletes (up to 3) will be nominated to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team in rank order of finish from the Olympic Trials.
         2. If only one athlete Candidate in an event has met the Olympic "A" standard by August 9, 2004, only the highest placing athlete who has met either the "A" or "B" standard will be nominated to the 2004 Olympic Team.

         Marathon

         1. Only athletes who finish the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's/Women's Marathon and who have achieved the Olympic "A" or "B" standard will be eligible for nomination to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. (Note: Athletes who finish in the top 20 at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in the marathon are considered to have achieved the "A" standard in the marathon for the 2004 Olympic Games)
         2. If the selection competition winner has not achieved the Olympic "A" qualifying standard, but has achieved the Olympic "B" qualifying standard during the selection period, she/he will be the only nominated U.S. Olympic team member in the men's/women's marathon in the 2004 Olympic Games.
         3. If the selection competition winner has achieved the "A" qualifying time during the selection period, she/he will be nominated to the Olympic Team. Other members of the team will be selected from any other athletes, in rank order of finish at the selection competition, who have achieved the Olympic "A" standard by between September 1, 2002 and August 9, 2004.
         4. If the winner of the Olympic Trials does not have an "A" or "B" standard, the next finisher who does have an "A" or "B" standard will be treated as if that runner were the winner of the event using the procedures outlined.
            
            If the winner has an "A" standard but decides to opt out of consideration for the event prior to July 18, 2004 (for example to run the 10,000m), the selection method described in "c" above will be used to select Candidates for the team. If the winner has a "B" standard but decides to opt out of consideration for the event prior to July 18, 2004, the next finisher from the Olympic Trials who does have an "A" or "B" standard will be nominated as a Candidate for the team, and remaining Candidates will be selected per the selection method described in "b" or "c" above.
   3. Procedures for replacement of athletes initially named to the team following final trials

      An athlete who withdraws from the team after July 21, 2004 will be replaced by the next eligible nominated Candidate who has achieved the Olympic Games qualifying standard, in rank order finish from the selection competition (final trials). Athletes are required to sign a statement of conditions for participation (attachment F).

   4. International Federation minimum standards for participation

      click here for the standards

2. Discretionary Selection

   Relay Team members are the only athletes who will be selected by discretion.

   The Relay Coach(es) will present to the Head Coach(es) athletes for the relay pool. The decision will be based on the Relay Coach(es)' judgment of that athlete's ability to contribute to the success of the relay team at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. The Relay Coach(es) will also take into consideration the athlete's ability to: 1) pass and receive the baton with either hand; 2) run the turn and/or straight leg; and 3) any other event(s) in which the athlete(s) may be scheduled to participate. In the event that the Head Coach and the Relay Coach disagree with the relay team selection, the appropriate sport chair (Men or Women's Track & Field Committee) will be brought in to cast the deciding vote. If the appropriate sport chair (Men or Women's Track & Field Committee) is unavailable or unreachable, the decision of the Head Coach will be upheld.

   There will be mandatory relay training for members of the relay pool. Athletes will be notified of such mandatory training upon being selected to the relay pool.

3. Tryout Sites and Events
   1. Track & Field Events:
      2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field
      Sacramento, CA, July 9-18, 2004
   2. Men's 50 km Race Walk:
      2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's 50 km Race Walk
      Chula Vista, CA, February 15, 2004
   3. Marathon:
      Women: 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon
      St. Louis, MO, April 3, 2004

   Men: 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon
   Birmingham, AL, February 7, 2004

4. Publicity/Distribution of Procedures
   • Website: www.usatf.org/elite
   • Publication: Elite Beat magazine, distributed to more than 1,000 athletes
   • E-mail: direct e-mail to athletes; more than 750 athlete e-mail addresses on file
   • Entry Booklet: selection procedures will be clearly defined in the selection competition entry booklet which will be published in January 2004
5. USOC Ombudsman

   If you have questions regarding your opportunity to compete that are not answered by USATF, you may contact the USOC Athlete Ombudsman: John W. Ruger by telephone at (888) ATHLETE, or by e-mail at john.ruger@usoc.org.

6. Date of Nomination

   Olympic Team Candidates will be nominated on July 21, 2004. Olympic Team Members will be nominated no later than August 14, 2004.

7. Mandatory Training

   At this time, there will be no mandatory training for entrants in the individual events at the 2004 Olympic Games.

   There will be mandatory relay training for members of the relay pool. Athletes will be notified of such mandatory training upon being selected to the relay pool.

8. Athlete Representation

   All committees of USA Track & Field have at least 20% athletes representation, including the Men's and Women's Track & Field Committees and the High Performance Division, which have jurisdiction over these procedures (see Attachment D).

9. International Disclaimer

   These procedures are based on IOC, and IAAF rules and regulations as presently known and understood. Any change in the selection procedures caused by a change in IOC, or the IAAF rules and regulations will be distributed to the affected athletes immediately. The selection criteria are based on the latest information available to USATF. However, the selections are always subject to unforeseen, intervening circumstances, and realistically have not accounted for every possible contingency.

¹ For those Olympic Trials events in which multiple rounds are held, finish is defined as the completion of a preliminary round. For those Olympic Trials events for which a "final only" is held, finish is defined as the completion of the "final only" round.