Team USA Chases Qualifing Standards

Posted Monday, July 7, 2003

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Even though the USATF National Championships are over, the American team for the World Championships is still in the air.

The top 3 finishers from each event at the national championships would become the U.S. team, but only if they have made the IAAF "A" qualifying standard. This leaves some runners who didn't finish in the top 3 currently on the team, while the runners ahead of them chase the standards. The standards themselves are rather brutal in the distance events, where the U.S. has struggled in recent years to qualify an full 3 person team.

Here are the "A" standards for the distance races:

Men

800m - 1:46.00
1500m - 3:34.90
5000m - 13:21.50
10,000m - 27:49.00
3000m Steeplechase - 8:24.60

Women

800m - 2:00.00
1500m - 4:05.80
5000m - 15:08.70
10,000m - 31:45.00