Every year I am following closely the US athletics trials. I have already explained in some article of mine that I consider the Trials counterproductive. In fact, most athletes try to be at their maximum at the Trials in order to secure a spot in the team (unless they are already world champions and have a by) and usually find themselves in a down-going trajectory when they it's time for the big appointment. Here I am not going to rehash the same point. Rather I would like to talk about some other observation of mine: perusing the results of the Trials one has the impression that (with some exceptions) the US throws are going down the drain. Let me elaborate.
There are only three throws where there were more athletes with world championships qualifying standards than the three posts in the team: men's and women's shot put and women's hammer throw. In men's shot put the first eight finalists had the standard (to be fair, J. Geist who was 6th, reached the standard in the Trials competition). A surprise was the fourth place of J. Kovacs, who thus does not have a ticket for Budapest. In women's shot put the athletes who have the standard finished 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 15th(!). J. Davis finished third but does not have the standard (she is still a young thrower). C. Ealey finished 4th but since she is the reigning champion she would already have had her place in the team even if Davis were qualified. In women's hammer throw the athletes with the standard finished 1st (the reigning world champion B. Andersen), 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th, with J. Shippee, placing 4th and reaching the standard during the competition (which may give her a place in the team).
And that's it. All the rest is a disaster. There was not a single competitor with the qualifying standard in men's javelin. The women's event did not fare better: The only athlete with the standard, A. Ince, finished 6th. I wonder whether they will qualify her for the world championships team. K. Winger (who was 2nd in the Eugene, 2022, World's and who set a US record of 68.11 m the same year) who retired at the end of last year's season will not be easily replaced. She in the 12th performer of all times. B. Greer holds the 15th place for men, the only 90+ m US athlete.
I remember B. Greer from the 2004, Athens, Olympics. He threw a humongous 87.25 m in the qualifiers, which made him the de facto favourite of the event. But in the final he could do not better than 74.36 m, finishing 12th. To be fair, he had a knee injury from June but, still, his throw in the qualifiers would have sufficed for the gold medal, won by A. Thorkildsen with 86.50 m.
The situation in men's hammer throw is not at all similar to that of the women's. There is actually only one 80+ m thrower in the US, R. Winkler and till now he hasn't obtained anything better than a place in the final in the world championships. (He is the historically 20th performer of the event).
Only one athlete had the standard in men's discus: S. Mattis who finished first of the Trials. V. Allman was the only woman discus thrower coming to the Trials with a qualifying standard but L. Tausaga managed to throw beyond the 64.20 m limit on her last throw, securing a place in the team.
All in all, there are five qualifiable athletes in five events. This is really a very low number, given the potential of the US. To tell the truth I have trouble understanding the infatuation of the US throwers with shot put. Clearly the advent of the rotational style opened the events to a wholly new population of throwers who (with the notable exception of R. Grouser) tend to be more "compact". But, still, I have trouble understanding the disinterest for an event like the discus throw where the US throwers have shined. Where is the legacy of the great A. Oerter, of J. Silvester (first man beyond 60 m), of M. Wilkins (olympic champion in 1976 and first man beyond 70 m)? The last US medal in a major championships goes back to 1999 with the victory of A. Washington in Seville. It is time american coaches did something in order to stop this decline.
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