Goals have been clearly set for some time so those who qualify to the standards we’ve set will know they’re capable of returning from Athens having achieved something – they’re not simply going to the Olympic Games as excess baggage.
This is a quote from a very Henryk Lakomy, Sports science & fitness director at British Swimming.
So they feel that Mark Foster is excess baggage ! :mad:
He could win a medal, but i guess we will never know and that is one less medal for Britain. Ah well, there is always the breaststroke. Which seems to be the only stroke that UK swimmers can do well !:mad:
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Former Member
Originally posted by mattson
Here is my take. Yes, they knew about the standards in advance, but I think those standards are completely nuts. So in that sense, yes they are being screwed. ;)
I thought it used to be an honor to just compete in the Olympics. The next time I think that people in the US are too obsessed with (gold) medels, I'll remember the trial standards set in Britain and Japan.
Isn't there a school of thought that the only way to get experience/confidence in big games, is to compete in big games? (I hear this all the time in football and basketball: the advantage of playoff experience.) Newer swimmers, even if they aren't fast enough to medal now, could use these Olympics to work the jitters out, so they'll be ready for the *next* Olympics.
Then Thorpe got screwed screwed(temporary as it may be), Foster is screwed(stupid criteria), Stevens is screwed because he isn't Thorpe, Esposito is screwed because he got sick at the wrong time. There will be some sad tale in every country that'll make somebody say they got screwed. Somebody is always going to think the selection criteria, no matter what it is, is nuts. There has to be some way to make the selection and that means someone is going to get left out.
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Former Member
Originally posted by mattson
Here is my take. Yes, they knew about the standards in advance, but I think those standards are completely nuts. So in that sense, yes they are being screwed. ;)
I thought it used to be an honor to just compete in the Olympics. The next time I think that people in the US are too obsessed with (gold) medels, I'll remember the trial standards set in Britain and Japan.
Isn't there a school of thought that the only way to get experience/confidence in big games, is to compete in big games? (I hear this all the time in football and basketball: the advantage of playoff experience.) Newer swimmers, even if they aren't fast enough to medal now, could use these Olympics to work the jitters out, so they'll be ready for the *next* Olympics.
Then Thorpe got screwed screwed(temporary as it may be), Foster is screwed(stupid criteria), Stevens is screwed because he isn't Thorpe, Esposito is screwed because he got sick at the wrong time. There will be some sad tale in every country that'll make somebody say they got screwed. Somebody is always going to think the selection criteria, no matter what it is, is nuts. There has to be some way to make the selection and that means someone is going to get left out.
