Jenny Meadows deserves a chance....

Would anyone agree that Jenny Meadows deserves a shot at the Olympic 800m event just as much as Andy Turner deserves his chance at 110mH?

Meadows has consistently performed well at championships, is tenacious, experienced and a damn hard worker. Given that only one slot is filled right now it seems downright strange not to select her. It's not like they have to pay for an airline ticket. If injury prevents her from competing at the last minute then fair enough but she should not be denied the chance to compete by her own GB team selectors.

Sadly it doesn't work like that.

They picked Lynsey Sharp with only a B standard, which means that they're not allowed to pick any other athletes.

They figured that she was a better option on her own than any three of Meadows/Okoro/Simpson/Jackson were. (who all had at least one A standard).

Thanks for the clarification DJ. Seems like a huge risk to throw all the 800m eggs into one B standard basket though.

That's my thoughts really, considering that all 5 are pretty much even up to the point that they're all an outside bet for the final and none of them have much of a chance for a medal.

They may as well take 3 and hope for the best.

(although my opinion of it is that they didn't want to take Okoro, so went this route in order to make it seem more reasonable.)

Can't buy this anti-Okoro stuff myself ... Seems more likely they (a) Concluded Meadows would not be able to get fit in time (b) Didn't really think any of the others had much chance of making the top 8 and (c) Decided to pick the one obviously fit , in form , runner who might make a big improvement at the games.

Not sure I agree with them , reckon you could make a fair case for any of the other three , but I don't believe it is a case of favoritism or the opposite , just a judgement call.

Lot of pressure on young Sharp unfortunately as a result , which is one of the reasons I would probably have taken the three instead , but I guess we will see how good or bad a call it is in a month...

(Dream situation : Sharp gets an A in the next few days and Maz is added to the 800 ... which they could do as she is in the team as a relay squad member. Be too late for Jackson though...)

Yes, they must have thought long and hard about Meadows as she was probably the only runner capable on her day of medalling. They must have concluded that it was too high a risk but that decision could rebound on them if Meadows returns to form before the Olympics.

I would have taken that risk as I doubt that Sharp will get into the final. I'd also have picked Simpson and Okoro, but without great hopes for either of them.

My understanding is that Okoro will be a pace maker in a race later today involving Sharp. Would indeed be good to see Sharp dipping under the A standard with Okoro a major beneficiary.

Is that definite , teassoc ? I suggested just such an idea on AW the other day , but didn't really expect they would be attempting it ...really hope she gets the A !

As the team entries are still open they could also include Simpson or Jackson in those circumstances , which would be a wonderful end to this rather tricky dilemma ...

Good luck ladies

I hope she does it too, I didn't expect they would set something up like this either.

I reckon Sharp sits at the back and picks off all the girls who go with Okoro's pacemaking, and then aeroplane's over the line 2 tenths outside the A-Standard whilst easing up in celebration, haha.

Not really, I imagine she'll take closer order and try her best.

Not sure about that report but expect it would be at today's LEAP meeting, if at all.

Thought was a bit odd. Sharp isn't in the race where Okoro is pacemaking. I believe her next race is London DL next week which is after the cutoff date of course.

djlovesyou wrote:Thought was a bit odd. Sharp isn't in the race where Okoro is pacemaking. I believe her next race is London DL next week which is after the cutoff date of course.

Pity. Guess it was too good to be true.

Sorry for that.