USA Champs Controversy

Two 3000m at altitude were run last night to determine the World Indoor Team. The track was crowded to the brim with a field full of guys, way too many bodies flying around on tight turns in tight zones. As a result, we witnessed a couple of races that will lead to possibly the most controversial month of USA indoor track of all time.

19 men and 13 women got out on the track to race for spots on the world team and the Nike Oregon Project would be the center of everyone's attention both before and after everything was said and done.

First, I'll discuss the men's race, less controversial of the two. In a field of 19 runners, there were only a few with the A standard for worlds, and perhaps even fewer with a legit chance of making the team. Early on, teammates Andrew Bumbalough, Lopez Lomong and Ryan Hill assumed the pace out front, with Bumbalough really leading the charge. The pace was very quick early, especially at altitude, and quickly the race thinned out so that Bumbalough was dragging Hill, Lomong, Rupp and Lagat around the track.

Around 2k things began to slow as Bumbalough began to suffer a slow and painful death off the brutal pace he had set in the beginning. He dropped off hard over the final 1k of the race, causing some to speculate he was a sacrificial lamb of a racer acting as a rabbit for the Schumacher guys (Hill and Lomong). Those guys were clearly trying to make Rupp work. Every time Rupp tried to go to the front once Bumbi was out of the picture, Hill and Lomong pushed it from the inside, Hill even cutting Rupp off badly early in the race in a fairly dirty move I would say.

As things headed towards the finish, Rupp finally got to the front and Lomong began to really feel the pace as well. It was down to just Rupp, Lagat and Hill. Rupp's pacing assuming duties began to damage him next as he slipped out of the lead. Lagat went to the front and Hill followed as best he could. On the backstretch they began to lap runners the slew of slow moving athletes confused as to where to run made for a zig-zagging path down the back stretch. It looked as if Hill was going to pull away from Rupp, stunning the London Silver Medalist and multiple American Record holder, but Rupp found one more gear and blew by Hill who struggled mightily over the last 100m despite a very tough run. He finished 3rd and Rupp locked up 2nd and a spot at the world team.

Keep in mind during all of this Bernard Lagat, at 39 years old, sprinted away from a couple guys in their prime to run 7:46.01 and win by over 2 seconds. At altitude. He trains at altitude, but I mean seriously what is that guy on?

So you have a drugged up Lagat and an absurdly large and nearly destructive 3k field already making for quite the ridiculous race, but things were only just getting started.

An outraged Alberto Salazar, Galen Rupp's coach and head of the Nike Oregon Project, was apparently caught yelling at Coach Schumacher after the race was over. He was extremely upset at how the crew had used Bumbalough as a virtual pace maker for the event, causing the pace to be fast enough to really put a beating on his golden boy Galen Rupp to the point where Rupp was forced to scratch from the 1500m the next day.

It wasn't just Rupp who was victimized by that destructive pace. Watch the video of the race. After the runners finish they collapse on the track leaving something out of a war film left to witness for the spectators. Well, at least Bernard Lagat looked fine afterwards ....

So Al Sal's complaining and some review led to a DQ for Bumbi whose work as a pace maker was scene as interference. Not really sure how this can quite be a rule, but apparently it fits and as a result Bumbi was gone. But look, can you blame the other Nike Group in Oregon for trying to clear space for their guys among a 19 guy field? Can you expect them to not try and push it and work hard to make guys like Bernard Lagat try and lose their kicking advantage (even if it completely failed)? Salazar didn't like it one bit and allegedly things almost got pretty physical out in Albuquerque.

Feel free to watch for the video for yourself on Runnerspace and let me know what you think.

But wait there is more! If you thought that plate full of controversy was appetizing, wait until you see what's for dessert.

The women's 3k featured a few more of Al Sal's main gals, Shannon Rowbury and Jordan Hasay. They would be matched up against a slew of Brooks girls and other B list types as Conley and Simpson opted out of the US indoor championships (because honestly are they really that big of a deal?).

Gabe Grunewald (formerly known as Gabe Anderson, always a little confusing when these women get married) was coming off a fantastic outdoor season and came into the race as one of the few women with the A standard for worlds. As the race quickly became a kickers paradise, Grunewald and Rowbury (easily the best 1500m chops in the field) were licking their lips while Jordan Hasay (highly improbable for her to win a kicker's race against these two) was running relaxed and hoping for the Al Sal magic to bring her home in the top 2.

Things finally started to get quick with about 1k-800m to go. There was a rotation through the leaders, everybody but Grunewald taking the helm, and finally it got to be time to kick. Rowbury and Hasay assumed the 1-2 position, looking like they would have the race to themselves when Grunewald found her kick with about 200m to go. Suddenly she just started blasting off at the bell and was catching up to the other runners so quickly it was dangerous.

Very dangerous in fact. She came up on Hasay too fast, the two had their feet tangle slightly, neither went down or were too seriously affected and Grunewald went around. Then Grunewald came up on Rowbury, equally as quickly. She pulled up carefully, it appeared as if she avoided contact with Rowbury on this one and then flew around into the final 200m and straight dominated the race.

Grunewald was the champion going away and, thus, Grunewald and Rowbury would be the world team and Hasay would be the first alternate. But Alberto was having none of that. The Nike conspiracy begins to take place.

According to what I have read on flotrack, the judges reviewed the situation and said there was no foul, just natural incidental conduct. Salazar filed an appeal which was rejected. He filed a further appeal which set up a 3 person jury. They also found nothing wrong. So Grunewald is good to go right?

Wrong. Another appeal led to a sudden change of mind from officials and suddenly Grunewald was out and Hasay was upgraded on to the world team (Note: Hasay ended up falling the 4th in the race but 3rd place finisher Sara Vaughn does not have the A standard.). The Grunewald camp is trying desperately to get this decision overruled, but at the moment the results still show Grunewald as disqualified.

I've now watched the video clip about 5 times over (about the 10:10 mark of this video http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&do=videos&video_id=105467) and I'm not sure I can say this is anything more than incidental. That being said, Grunewald was running recklessly on that last lap and nearly tripped herself and/or Rowbury as well with about 100m to go.

Here is the problem. The USATF has got all sorts of corruption and has made all sorts of stupid decisions in the last year. Now the Nike posse is trying to get their star child Hasay to join Rowbury and represent the USA on the world scene. The conspiracy theorists believe this is Nike's work to get their runners on the team and keep the lesser known women and lesser known brands (Brooks and Grunewald) on the sidelines watching.

I am far from a fan of Al Sal and I really dislike the USATF more and more with each day (really, 2 heats of the 1500m final? No additional 5k entrants in Des Moines? Just two rounds of the 15 last year? Gotta be kidding me ...), but there may be a slight argument for disqualification here. She ran up on the runners and in real time if she had been straight up DQd from the start it's hard to serious argue.

That being said, this smells really fishy. It took a huge slew of appeals to get this movement traction and now all of a sudden a lesser known name is off the team and Nike's own Jordan Hasay is on. IT does not pass the eye test one bit.

I wish the best for Grunewald and I really hope she gets in. She is a fantastic story and a two time cancer survivor. It's hard not to root for her out there. I hate to see the super powers win out and corruption stain our sport.

Regardless of the end result here, the USATF continues to ruin our sport. Controversy after controversy has virtually killed track and field in the US. It's not going to be popular if guys like these are looking for ways to get themselves richer and themselves better off (see the US Marathon trials in LA) rather than looking out for the hard working runners who have earned success. It brings me back to the Prefontaine days where the AAU would basically steal from him and use him as a means to their own personal gain. It's just outrageous.

Our sport will never be as great as it can be unless a change is made.

Let me know what you think about these controversies below and feel free to check out the race videos on Runnerspace.