USATF - Events - 2004 Olympic Games

Selection Procedures - Track & Field

The U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team will be selected as follows:

Individual Event Selections

An athlete's rank order of finish in a designated event at the Olympic Trials and the number of athletes who have achieved the Olympic "A" qualification standard will be used to select the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team.

The following criteria will be used to nominate athletes to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team:

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 finish 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 time achieved in the semifinal round.
  3. Athletes finishing in a preliminary round of competition will be assigned a rank based upon the fastest time achieved in the preliminary round.
  4. 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 round 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.
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 4) to the U.S. Olympic Team for that event.
For all track & field 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.
3. 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.
4. 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-placing 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-placing 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.
5. All athletes who are listed as Olympic Team Candidates on July 18, 2004 will have until August 9, 2004 to achieve an Olympic Games 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

Replacement of Athletes

An athlete who withdraws from the team after July 18, 2004 will be replaced by the next eligible nominated candidate who has achieved the Olympic Games qualifying standard, in rank order of finish at the Olympic Trials.

Discretionary Selection

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

The Relay Coach(es) will recommend to the Head Coach the athletes nominated for the relay pool. The decision will be based on the judgment of the Relay Coach(es) as to athlete's ability to contribute to the success of the relay team at the 2004 Olympic Games. The Relay Coach(es) will also take into consideration an athlete's ability to:

pass and receive the baton with either hand
run the turn and/or straight leg
any other event(s) in which an athlete(s) may be scheduled to participate.

In the event that the Head Coach and the Relay Coach(es) disagree with the relay team recommendation, 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.

More Information

Click here for the full, detailed selection procedures.

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