Build up to Berlin European Championships

Testosterscone · 22-07-2018 10:54am #1

With European Championships on the horizon figured no harm getting this thread up and running and hopefully build a bit of momentum of the back of the recent media buzz around Irish athletics

Interesting to see that team is shaping up well enough considering there was talk about being the smallest team in recent history to go to a major championship

Phil Healy – 100, 200, 400
Marcus Lawler - 200
Thomas Barr – 400h
Mark English - 800
Ciara Mageean – 1500
Claire Mooney – 800
Stephen Scullion – 10,000
Emma Mitchell – 10,000
Ben Reynolds – 110 h
Adam McMullen – Long Jump
Somer Lecky - High Jump
Mick Clohisey – Marathon
Paul Pollock – Marathon
Sean Hehir – Marathon
Sergiu Ciobanu – Marathon
Kevin Seaward – Marathon
Breege Connolly – Marathon
Glady’s Ganiel – Marathon
Laura Graham – Marathon
Lizzie Lee – Marathon
Claire McCarthy – Marathon
Alex Wright - Walk

By my reckoning we have 26 athletes qualified with 21 looking likely to go;
- Sarah Healy ruled herself out
- Word is Boyce and McManamon are injured in the walk
- English is a doubt after Morton Games
- Gregan out of action for the next month atleast

Faugheen · 22-07-2018 11:28am

Testosterscone wrote: »

With European Championships on the horizon figured no harm getting this thread up and running and hopefully build a bit of momentum of the back of the recent media buzz around Irish athletics

Interesting to see that team is shaping up well enough considering there was talk about being the smallest team in recent history to go to a major championship

Phil Healy – 100, 200, 400
Marcus Lawler - 200
Thomas Barr – 400h
Mark English - 800
Ciara Mageean – 1500
Claire Mooney – 800
Stephen Scullion – 10,000
Emma Mitchell – 10,000
Ben Reynolds – 110 h
Adam McMullen – Long Jump
Somer Lecky - High Jump
Mick Clohisey – Marathon
Paul Pollock – Marathon
Sean Hehir – Marathon
Sergiu Ciobanu – Marathon
Kevin Seaward – Marathon
Breege Connolly – Marathon
Glady’s Ganiel – Marathon
Laura Graham – Marathon
Lizzie Lee – Marathon
Claire McCarthy – Marathon
Alex Wright - Walk

By my reckoning we have 26 athletes qualified with 21 looking likely to go;
- Healy ruled herself out
- Word is Boyce and McManamon are injured in the walk
- English is a doubt after Morton Games
- Gregan out of action for the next month atleast

Healy said on Off The Ball this week that she’s running in the 100, 200, 4x100 and 4x400...

Testosterscone · 22-07-2018 11:32am

Faugheen wrote: »

Healy said on Off The Ball this week that she’s running in the 100, 200, 4x100 and 4x400...

Currently the teams are standing in 10th (4x100m) and 12th (4x400m) so hopefully there are no late surprises

Mens 4x400m team is also currently in qualifying spot ranked 11th

(Top 16 teams qualify)

Faugheen · 22-07-2018 12:44pm

Both the men's and women's 4x100 teams have a chance to set some quick times in London.

You would have to think the women's side are safe in 10th? Phil and Joan Healy running with Gina Akpe-Moses and Ciara Neville today should set a quick time to solidify their spot.

The men have a lot of work to do. No Marcus Lawler in their team today which is a worry.

Testosterscone · 22-07-2018 1:02pm

Faugheen wrote: »

Both the men's and women's 4x100 teams have a chance to set some quick times in London.

You would have to think the women's side are safe in 10th? Phil and Joan Healy running with Gina Akpe-Moses and Ciara Neville today should set a quick time to solidify their spot.

The men have a lot of work to do. No Marcus Lawler in their team today which is a worry.

For the women should be safe I would imagine. They are over 2 seconds inside qualifying at the moment and imagine they will improve on that today.

For the Men they would need a 39.16 (0.10 faster than the National record) or to hit two 39.7s in the coming weeks to stand a chance

jamule · 22-07-2018 1:30pm

Testosterscone wrote: »

With European Championships on the horizon figured no harm getting this thread up and running and hopefully build a bit of momentum of the back of the recent media buzz around Irish athletics

Interesting to see that team is shaping up well enough considering there was talk about being the smallest team in recent history to go to a major championship

Phil Healy – 100, 200, 400
Marcus Lawler - 200
Thomas Barr – 400h
Mark English - 800
Ciara Mageean – 1500
Claire Mooney – 800
Stephen Scullion – 10,000
Emma Mitchell – 10,000
Ben Reynolds – 110 h
Adam McMullen – Long Jump
Somer Lecky - High Jump
Mick Clohisey – Marathon
Paul Pollock – Marathon
Sean Hehir – Marathon
Sergiu Ciobanu – Marathon
Kevin Seaward – Marathon
Breege Connolly – Marathon
Glady’s Ganiel – Marathon
Laura Graham – Marathon
Lizzie Lee – Marathon
Claire McCarthy – Marathon
Alex Wright - Walk

By my reckoning we have 26 athletes qualified with 21 looking likely to go;
- Sarah Healy ruled herself out
- Word is Boyce and McManamon are injured in the walk
- English is a doubt after Morton Games
- Gregan out of action for the next month atleast

Did i dream Zac Curran ran the 800m time at Bislett?

Testosterscone · 22-07-2018 1:33pm

jamule wrote: »

Did i dream Zac Curran ran the 800m time at Bislett?

Right you are actually Zak Curran and Dean Cronin both have a qualifiers

Testosterscone · 22-07-2018 2:01pm

Diamond league results

Mens 4x100 40.47
Womens 4x100 44.23

Neither time quick enough to affect current standings of Europaen Rankings

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 9:39am

100m

Athlete|Time|A Standard|B Standard
Jeremy Phillips| 10.35|10.30|10.35
Gina Akpe Moses|11.46|11.40|11.50

Both athletes in a similar situation with have one B standard to there name this season. Moses is in a better situation given here 2 fastest times this year (both early season11.46 and 11.51) were both into negative headwinds while she also had an 11.51 in Semifinals of the World Juniors that shows she is still in same sort of shape so hopefully a favourable wind could push her under the 11.50 once more.

Phillips early season form looks good but with time running out his 10.76 in Morton games even with a -2.1 headwind means he will need a big performance to stand a chance however he did manage a 10.37 also this season so definitely knocking on the door

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 9:40am

Barr the only medal shout. Good chance at bronze, outside shot at silver, zero chance at gold (unless Warholm falls over or something).

Mageean to make the final. Hard to know what to expect really. She's been poor in championships the last 2 years. A medal is asking a lot I think. Top 8 perhaps. Hassan only doing the 5000m supposedly, which allows a bit of breathing room for her.

Healy with an outside shot at making the 200m final, but it will probably require a PB and I fear she may have already peaked this season. Time will tell.

Lawlor is rounding into nice form, and I'd give him a reasonable shout at making the final, particularly if he gets a bye to the semi final.

The 4x100m women's team should really be targeting a final place.

Other than that there will be very little. The odd semi final here and there, and some good experience for a few of the young athletes. It will be one of our smaller teams for a Europeans I anticipate.

Oh, and Berlino the Bear will be back, for all you who remember 2009!!

Pherekydes · 23-07-2018 9:45am

Where do you find the A and B standards? I've just been on the European athletics website and only one standard is listed.

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 9:46am

Testosterscone wrote: »

100m

Athlete|Time|A Standard|B Standard
Jeremy Phillips| 10.35|10.30|10.35
Gina Akpe Moses|11.46|11.40|11.50

Both athletes in a similar situation with have one B standard to there name this season. Moses is in a better situation given here 2 fastest times this year (both early season11.46 and 11.51) were both into negative headwinds while she also had an 11.51 in Semifinals of the World Juniors that shows she is still in same sort of shape so hopefully a favourable wind could push her under the 11.50 once more.

Phillips early season form looks good but with time running out his 10.76 in Morton games even with a -2.1 headwind means he will need a big performance to stand a chance however he did manage a 10.37 also this season so definitely knocking on the door

I think they'll likely just send everyone who has run a B standard this year (a.k.a. the EAA standard), otherwise we are looking at a ridiculously small team for a Europeans. They did this 2 years ago for Amsterdam. Had athletes off chasing A Standards right up to the end, and then they just sent everyone on a B. It would be seriously idiotic to leave the likes of Akpe Moses at home.

Pherekydes wrote: »

Where do you find the A and B standards? I've just been on the European athletics website and only one standard is listed.

On the AAI High Performance page. Load of nonsense really.

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 9:49am

Chivito550 wrote: »

I think they'll likely just send everyone who has run a B standard this year (a.k.a. the EAA standard), otherwise we are looking at a ridiculously small team for a Europeans. They did this 2 years ago for Amsterdam. Had athletes off chasing A Standards right up to the end, and then they just sent everyone on a B.

Pretty sure it's in the rules (has changed since then) that you need to hit 2 b standards to be considered or one A. Basically brought it to replace the ambiguous proven form wording from previous iterations.

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 9:57am

Chivito550 wrote: »

It will be one of our smaller teams for a Europeans I anticipate.

Numbers are looking to be in line with Zurich and Helsinki

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 9:58am

Testosterscone wrote: »

Pretty sure it's in the rules (has changed since then) that you need to hit 2 b standards to be considered or one A. Basically brought it to replace the ambiguous proven form wording from previous iterations.

This was the case 2 years ago aswell. Athletes needed 1 A Standard or 2 B Standards. If the athlete ran the A the year before they still needed a B in 2016 to show form. Nothing has changed since Amsterdam in terms of these general rules.

I recall Jessie Barr trying frantically to run 2 standards the weekend of nationals (she ended up injured in warm up for the heats) as the athletes still thought they needed 2 B standards at this point.

Problem was, young talent like Siofra only had one B, and they wanted to send her, so rather than pick some on B standards and not others, and the absolute uproar that would cause, they sent absolutely everybody who had a B standard from 2016.

Don't be shocked if that happens again.

Personally I think they should just be operating off the EAA standard. Requiring it to be run again in 2018 is not a bad idea though, to show form.

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 10:02am

Testosterscone wrote: »

Numbers are looking to be in line with Zurich and Helsinki

There were no marathons or walks in Helsinki to inflate the numbers.

Zurich I'll have to check. I don't think there were 5 marathon runners for men and 5 for women back then though.

DONTMATTER · 23-07-2018 10:02am

Is the title of this thread in reference to the many non Europeans competing in the European championships?

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 10:08am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Other than that there will be very little. The odd semi final here and there, and some good experience for a few of the young athletes. It will be one of our smaller teams for a Europeans I anticipate.

I know this will probably vex you given your views on it but Mens Marathon look set to improve on there 7th place and could have an outside shot of a medal

- Russian team that won are gone
- Retirement of Viktor Rothlin and presumably Abraham will have an Autumn WMM means the Swiss team will be much weaker
- Irish team has improved significantly
- No GB team

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 10:12am

DONTMATTER wrote: »

Is the title of this thread in reference to the many non Europeans competing in the European championships?

Fixed now:o

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 10:15am

Chivito550 wrote: »

There were no marathons or walks in Helsinki to inflate the numbers.

Zurich I'll have to check. I don't think there were 5 marathon runners for men and 5 for women back then though.

7 as opposed to 10 marathoners. Are walkers look set to be down from the usual full complement also with injuries

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 10:22am

Testosterscone wrote: »

I know this will probably vex you given your views on it but Mens Marathon look set to improve on there 7th place and could have an outside shot of a medal

- Russian team that won are gone
- Retirement of Viktor Rothlin and presumably Abraham will have an Autumn WMM means the Swiss team will be much weaker
- Irish team has improved significantly
- No GB team

Nah, I obviously want to see the lads do well and nab a medal. Does it officially count towards the medal table though? I don’t think the team half marathon did in Amsterdam.

Personally, I don’t believe team events that are not direct races (relays) should be part of it personally.

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 10:24am

Testosterscone wrote: »

7 as opposed to 10 marathoners. Are walkers look set to be down from the usual full complement also with injuries

True, though Pollock didn’t make the start line. Fair point re walkers.

How many relay teams did we have in Zurich? Was it just the 4x4 for men? Looks like we will have 3 teams this time.

Our team does feel very light in terms of individual stadium events.

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 10:27am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Nah, I obviously want to see the lads do well and nab a medal. Does it officially count towards the medal table though? I don’t think the team half marathon did in Amsterdam.

Personally, I don’t believe team events that are not direct races (relays) should be part of it personally.

Not 100% certain.

For me personally it makes sense as it's not something new

- National team championships operate on this format
- Cross Country from grass roots level to World XC Championships level operate this way and have done since there inception.

Adds an extra dynamic to marathon championship (and indeed a spectator view point of cheering on a National team as opposed to an individual)

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 10:32am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Our team does feel very light in terms of individual stadium events.

I remember talking to you about this early in the year.

I think we both would have been very happy at the time to see 11 stadium athletes competiting especially if you had said that they wouldn't include Gregan and English due to injury

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 10:35am

Testosterscone wrote: »

I remember talking to you about this early in the year.

I think we both would have been very happy at the time to see 11 stadium athletes competiting especially if you had said that they wouldn't include Gregan and English due to injury

Was that not in relation to Worlds? I'd consider 11 stadium athletes for Worlds to be a good number. For a European event, which considerably lower entry standards, it is not good. Not a single athlete qualified in the men's 400m for example. 2 years ago we had a full compliment.

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 10:38am

Testosterscone wrote: »

Not 100% certain.

For me personally it makes sense as it's not something new

- National team championships operate on this format
- Cross Country from grass roots level to World XC Championships level operate this way and have done since there inception.

Adds an extra dynamic to marathon championship (and indeed a spectator view point of cheering on a National team as opposed to an individual)

Perhaps. I just feel that if there's a team event for one event, then why not for other events in T&F.

But if it is merely the European Marathon Cup or whatever it is called, being held at the same time as the Europeans, and doesn't count towards the actual championships, then it makes sense.

Testosterscone · 23-07-2018 10:52am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Was that not in relation to Worlds? I'd consider 11 stadium athletes for Worlds to be a good number. For a European event, which considerably lower entry standards, it is not good. Not a single athlete qualified in the men's 400m for example. 2 years ago we had a full compliment.

Think there may be some ommisions. Noticed I missed P Byrne in the hurdles so may be a few more.

Question is were the standards easier due to 2 years ago being an Olympic year?

With 400m you also have to factor Gregan injured, Gillick retired, Morrisey and Lynch haven't ran a 400 this year from what I can see. Curran moved up to 800m, Harvey to the hurdles and the majority of the fastest times this year coming from guys 20 or younger looks to be a transition period somewhat.

Chivito550 · 23-07-2018 11:06am

Testosterscone wrote: »

Think there may be some ommisions. Noticed I missed P Byrne in the hurdles so may be a few more.

Question is were the standards easier due to 2 years ago being an Olympic year?

With 400m you also have to factor Gregan injured, Gillick retired, Morrisey and Lynch haven't ran a 400 this year from what I can see. Curran moved up to 800m, Harvey to the hurdles and the majority of the fastest times this year coming from guys 20 or younger looks to be a transition period somewhat.

Not noticeably. Standards the exact same in some events, and slightly tougher in others, but not by a hugely noticeable amount.

http://bfla.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/european-athletics-championships-2016-entry-standards.pdf

http://www.european-athletics.org/mm/Document/EventsMeetings/Event/01/28/11/86/EuropeanAthleticsChampionships2018-EntryStandards_Neutral.pdf

Testosterscone · 25-07-2018 3:15pm

3 Irish teams confirmed as qualifiers for the relays

http://www.european-athletics.org/mm/Document/EventsMeetings/General/01/28/47/04/ECH2018-Relays-ListofSelectedTeams-Updated_English.pdf

Testosterscone · 25-07-2018 7:11pm

Could be an addition to the team pending meeting tomorrow

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/44825708

Joe_ Public · 25-07-2018 7:24pm

Testosterscone wrote: »

Could be an addition to the team pending meeting tomorrow

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/44825708

Am a bit rusty on the IAAF eligibility rules, but i can't see any obvious reasons why this appeal should be turned down. Surely he meets all the necessary requirements. Regardless of whether its a good or bad thing, if an athlete can run for Northern Ireland, then should it not logically follow that he can run for Ireland? Maybe I'm missing something here though.

Testosterscone · 25-07-2018 7:33pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Am a bit rusty on the IAAF eligibility rules, but i can't see any obvious reasons why this appeal should be turned down. Surely he meets all the necessary requirements. Regardless of whether its a good or bad thing, if an athlete can run for Northern Ireland, then should it not logically follow that he can run for Ireland? Maybe I'm missing something here though.

Hi Represented UK right through Juvenile and Juniors. The issue was due to the IAAF transfer freeze moreso than the validity of his application should go through but this was a major point during the early stages of Coe's Presidency (the influx of East African's representing European countries etc)

DONTMATTER · 25-07-2018 7:35pm

He'd be competitive in the 200 at European level.

Joe_ Public · 25-07-2018 7:36pm

Testosterscone wrote: »

Hi Represented UK right through Juvenile and Juniors. The issue was due to the IAAF transfer freeze moreso than the validity of his application should go through but this was a major point during the early stages of Coe's Presidency (the influx of East African's representing European countries etc)

Oh yeah, I'm aware of the backstory and context. I'm just curious as to what grounds they could refuse the transfer.

Testosterscone · 25-07-2018 7:39pm

DONTMATTER wrote: »

He'd be competitive in the 200 at European level.

Currently ranked 9th fastest in Europe this year and has proven he can run rounds (Commonwealth medal earlier this year)

Testosterscone · 25-07-2018 7:45pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Oh yeah, I'm aware of the backstory and context. I'm just curious as to what grounds they could refuse the transfer.

Criteria here

- a minimum three-year waiting period for athletes wanting to transfer from one country to another
- the establishment of a review panel that will determine the credibility of applications
- evidence that countries are offering full citizenship and associated rights
- the provision that an athlete can transfer only once in their career, and
- that no transfers take place before the age of 20.

Credibility should be fine however one possible (albeit weak) argument against could be residency given he lives in Bath however given all circumstances I think it would be very hard to claim it as a non credible application.

Joe_ Public · 25-07-2018 7:55pm

Testosterscone wrote: »

Criteria here

Credibility should be fine however one possible (albeit weak) argument against could be residency given he lives in Bath however given all circumstances I think it would be very hard to claim it as a non credible application.

I suppose if they have a specific residency rule in place that could be one impediment, but still struggling to see it. He's already entitled to an Irish passport so cant be any issue there. Seems a determined young chap, so i imagine if decision tomorrow goes against him, this would go to appeal and, if necessary, to CAS.

Testosterscone · 25-07-2018 8:08pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

I suppose if they have a specific residency rule in place that could be one impediment, but still struggling to see it. He's already entitled to an Irish passport so cant be any issue there. Seems a determined young chap, so i imagine if decision tomorrow goes against him, this would go to appeal and, if necessary, to CAS.

Doubt it would come to that to be honest especially when you see cases like Zharnel Hughes as a comparison (though he was transferred due to ineligibilty to run in Olympics)

Chivito550 · 26-07-2018 9:37am

Having a look at the AAI A and B standards here:

The difference between A and B are as follows:

Men:

100m: 0.05
200m: 0.20
400m: 0.70
800m: 0.50
1500m: 1.00

Women:

100m: 0.10
200m: 0.20
400m: 0.90
800m: 0.50
1500m: 3.60

I'd love to know the logic behind the relative difficulty of hitting an A Standard for 400m compared to 200m and 800m. How is there only a 0.50 gap between A and B for 800m, while for a distance which is half the length, the gap is 0.70 for men and 0.90 for women?

Also, why is the A standard for women's 1500m so far ahead of the B, while for men it isn't?

Why is the difference for men's 200m 4 times that of the difference for men's 100m, but for women's it is just twice the difference?

https://athleticsireland.app.box.com/s/a3g7sex2j99surpvrx3lv4wfvezbl7tc

Testosterscone · 26-07-2018 10:04am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Having a look at the AAI A and B standards here:

The difference between A and B are as follows:

Men:

100m: 0.05
200m: 0.20
400m: 0.70
800m: 0.50
1500m: 1.00

Women:

100m: 0.10
200m: 0.20
400m: 0.90
800m: 0.50
1500m: 3.60

I'd love to know the logic behind the relative difficulty of hitting an A Standard for 400m compared to 200m and 800m. How is there only a 0.50 gap between A and B for 800m, while for a distance which is half the length, the gap is 0.70 for men and 0.90 for women?

Also, why is the A standard for women's 1500m so far ahead of the B, while for men it isn't?

Why is the difference for men's 200m 4 times that of the difference for men's 100m, but for women's it is just twice the difference?

https://athleticsireland.app.box.com/s/a3g7sex2j99surpvrx3lv4wfvezbl7tc

Just a guess but the events that have the toughest standard seem to be the ones where European Athletes are currently performing quite well on a World stage

Take a look at the mens ranked by range

400m (Traditionally Borlee's + GB 4x400 team)
200m (Giuliev WC 2017 + Mitchell Blake 4th)
1500m (2017 1/2 the WC finalists were European)
800m (Bosse WC + strong final presence)
100m (Weakest European presence)

Similarly the Womens 1500m looks strongest with the likes of Muir, Hassan, Weightman's performances

Similarly Schippers performance over short sprints making them comparable

Chivito550 · 26-07-2018 10:32am

Testosterscone wrote: »

Just a guess but the events that have the toughest standard seem to be the ones where European Athletes are currently performing quite well on a World stage

Take a look at the mens ranked by range

400m (Traditionally Borlee's + GB 4x400 team)
200m (Giuliev WC 2017 + Mitchell Blake 4th)
1500m (2017 1/2 the WC finalists were European)
800m (Bosse WC + strong final presence)
100m (Weakest European presence)

Similarly the Womens 1500m looks strongest with the likes of Muir, Hassan, Weightman's performances

Similarly Schippers performance over short sprints making them comparable

The A standards are set by AAI though, not by European Athletics. European Athletics only set one standard, which AAI are using as its B standard.

Not sure why AAI would care about the strength of a certain event in Europe when determining their A standards.

Testosterscone · 26-07-2018 10:37am

Chivito550 wrote: »

The A standards are set by AAI though, not by European Athletics. European Athletics only set one standard, which AAI are using as its B standard.

Not sure why AAI would care about the strength of a certain event in Europe when determining their A standards.

Medal/top 8 prospects in said event I would imagine, why else would there be a improved standard in the first place? Imagine AAI derive qualifications from top lists much like IAAF/EAA do

Chivito550 · 26-07-2018 10:49am

Testosterscone wrote: »

Medal/top 8 prospects in said event I would imagine, why else would there be a improved standard in the first place? Imagine AAI derive qualifications from top lists much like IAAF/EAA do

If the A standards are of differing difficulty, then surely the B standards should be of differing difficulty. Yet they are not. They have been kept as the EAA Standard. In some events the difference between A and B is not that significant. In the women's 400m it is a huge margin, that it is far far easier to just run 2 B standards and not need to push on hugely for an A.

Personally, I don't see the need for A and B. It's likely a budget thing, to cut down on costs. I think it is universally agreed that European Championships should be a place for people to gain experience, as well as for those competing for medals, top 8, semi finals etc. The argument has been made in the past that the Olympic Games are not the place to gain experience, which I can see the logic to. But somewhere has to be a place for experience, and the European Championships should be that place, and be open to anyone who hits the EAA standard? It's not like we are a big country with depth and can have the luxury of increasing standards and still filling 3 spots in each event.

It also seems ludicrous to have athletes running around Europe looking for 2 B standards, when they could plan to peak for Berlin having nailed 1 B standard, and hopefully have their second great run when it matters, rather than ending up over the top by the time the championships come around.

In any case, I suspect they could end up relaxing the whole A and B thing again. They'll want Gina Akpe Moses there. Unless they make some rule that anyone on a relay team only needs one B, not two.

Testosterscone · 26-07-2018 10:58am

Chivito550 wrote: »

It also seems ludicrous to have athletes running around Europe looking for 2 B standards, when they could plan to peak for Berlin having nailed 1 B standard, and hopefully have their second great run when it matters, rather than ending up over the top by the time the championships come around.

In any case, I suspect they could end up relaxing the whole A and B thing again. They'll want Gina Akpe Moses there. Unless they make some rule that anyone on a relay team only needs one B, not two.

That was the very same argument people made against the A before the 2b standard rule came in eventually you have to draw a line and I don't necessarily thing that is a bad thing. Yes it is unfortunate for those on the fringe but its not like these standards weren't listed well in advance. Many US athletes often have to go chasing times after the qualify from there trials if they don't have the qualifier prior to finishing top 3 in trials.

Regarding Moses, she will be there she will get the experience of a Senior championships and the team around her, she also had the World Juniors which is to gain experience as well. It would be easy to change the rules for her given she will already be there with no extra expense but that is a convenience move rather than an active change of policy regarding strategy.

Will be interesting to see the Sports Ireland Announcements yesterday and how they will affect things going forward.

Chivito550 · 26-07-2018 11:07am

Testosterscone wrote: »

That was the very same argument people made against the A before the 2b standard rule came in eventually you have to draw a line and I don't necessarily thing that is a bad thing. Yes it is unfortunate for those on the fringe but its not like these standards weren't listed well in advance. Many US athletes often have to go chasing times after the qualify from there trials if they don't have the qualifier prior to finishing top 3 in trials.

Regarding Moses, she will be there she will get the experience of a Senior championships and the team around her, she also had the World Juniors which is to gain experience as well. It would be easy to change the rules for her given she will already be there with no extra expense but that is a convenience move rather than an active change of policy regarding strategy.

Will be interesting to see the Sports Ireland Announcements yesterday and how they will affect things going forward.

I think to for their system to have credibility they are going to have to stick with it. If they do another U-turn like they did with Amsterdam, then they will have to scrap the separate A standards going forward for future European Championships.

Will be interesting to see what they do.

Testosterscone · 30-07-2018 8:13am

TheBigGreen · 30-07-2018 10:13am

Scullion is with Clonliffe Harriers AC ?

youngrun · 30-07-2018 7:51pm

TheBigGreen wrote: »

Scullion is with Clonliffe Harriers AC ?

Yes
He is going well .

Claire Mccarthy out from original mara selection

Good to see Michelle Finn get the standard at Nationals yesterday some determination

footing · 31-07-2018 9:26am

TheBigGreen wrote: »

Scullion is with Clonliffe Harriers AC ?

As is Dara Kerwick. And Breege Connolly is with one of the Derry clubs.

TheBigGreen · 31-07-2018 10:15am

Down as North Belfast AC

footing · 31-07-2018 11:38am

TheBigGreen wrote: »

Down as North Belfast AC

"Kinlough's Breege Connolly has been selected for the European Championships ... Now running for City of Derry Spartans AC," from Leitrim Observer.

Build up to Berlin European Championships

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