March 25
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What it takes to make the Olympic Team |
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So it’s that time of the year where everyone starts asking, “Are you going to the Olympics?”
I awkwardly have to tell them; I don’t know, but I hope so.
The second the words, “hope so” exit my mouth I can tell they think that I am a long shot to make the team and this is just a hobby of mine.
I can assure you that’s not true, but it’s just more complex than that. And I am going to break it down.
The International Olympic committee finally made the process of making the team a lot simpler, but not easier.
Similar to an A team and the B team in basketball the Olympics had an A Standard and a B Standard. You could make the team as long as you hit one of these standards. And sometimes an athlete with the B standard could go, but other times they couldn’t. It was hard to understand in certain events, so they simplified it by making one standard; now just called the Olympic Standard.
They said they were going to average the A and B standard together. In 2012 the A Standard was 82.00m and the B was 79.50m; so you would assume merging the two standards would be 80.75m, but they actually made it harder than ever.
You cannot go to the Olympics in America unless you have thrown the new Olympic Standard of 83.00m (272’4”) within the qualifying window.
The new standards were debated over quite a bit when they first came out. Field event athletes, especially discus, javelin, and hammer standards became much harder to achieve, while sprinters and distance runners standards became much easier. It may be unfair but there is nothing we can do about it.
The window to hit the standard started May 1, 2015 and currently two American male javelin throwers have thrown the Standard: Sean Furey 83.08m, and Sam Crouser 83.33m.
But each country can send a total of three athletes if they choose, which leaves one more spot for American men.
Tim Glover. He has thrown 84m the last two seasons. He’s a two-time NCAA Champion in 2011 & 2012. If I were a betting man, I would say he hits the standard early this season.
Riley Dolezal. Riley came out of nowhere in 2013. He hit a personal best of 83.50m to win the US Championships. Last year he was the most consistent thrower in the US by throwing 80m six times. I think his consistency will pay off with a personal best this year.
Sam Humphreys. Sam is one of the biggest javelin throwers in the US. His size alone gives him immense potential; as long as he can stay healthy. He hit his personal best of 83.14m back in 2013, the same year he won the NCAA national championships.
Craig Kinsley. Fellow 2012 Olympian, he has the experience and the talent to make the team.
Ryan Young. Under the radar since hitting his PB of 79.89m in 2011, but I am training with him and his practices are pretty impressive.
Tim VanLiew. He’s following up a huge year last year. He has a personal best of 79.49m but with lots of potential to throw farther.
Ben Woodruff. He continually improves each year; with a personal best of 78.67m he could easily find the right conditions to hit the standard.
Cyrus Hostetler. Not sure if it’s weird to add myself to this list, but I fully plan on hitting the Olympic Standard this year. Training has been awesome lately and as long as I continue my progression it is not a matter of will I hit the standard but when will I hit it.
With so much talent in America there will definitely be more than three guys with the Olympic Standard at the end of the year. This is why we have the Olympic Trials.
The Olympic Trials are July 2nd and 4th (qualifying and finals). The top 24 athletes in each event will compete to make the Olympic team. Qualifying round will narrow it down to the top 12 and finals will determine the Olympic team.
At the end of your event at the Olympic Trials the top three athletes WITH the Olympic Standard will make the Olympic team.
Normally this is the top three athletes, but on some occasions one or more of the top three at the Olympic trials will not have the Olympic Standard and the next best athlete (with the standard) will make the team.
Perfect example is 2012. The top two athletes did not have the Olympic A Standard, but the third, fourth, and fifth place finishers did. So those athletes made the Olympic Team (Sean Furey, Craig Kinsley, and myself).
You cannot chase the standard in Olympic years.
What does this mean? In non-Olympic years athletes who want to make the World Championships have a qualifying window that includes a few weeks after the USA Championships in which they can continue to try and throw the standard in order to make the team. But in Olympic years, the second the last throw is marked the results are final and the Olympic team is set.
I hope that clears up how to make the Olympic team. It’s a two-step process for everyone. And everyone is just a 2016 Olympic hopeful until the Olympic Trials are over.