Reflections on Oly Selections

After Matty Reed claimed the second US Oly berth last weekend, it constituted something of an upset, even though the Kiwi transplant had the number one ranking by USAT in 2007. The establishment favorites for the Beijing team were Hunter Kemper and Andy Potts, who are recognized as most consistently turning in top American finishes. Now one of them isn’t going (except possibly as an alternate). They are tied for first in the race for the final Oly team spot based on performances at the Beijing WC in 2007 and Trials last weekend, with no one else really in contention behind them. That means whoever is first across the line in Des Moines in June is going. Critically, whoever is second is not.

This must have USAT a little bit nervous. One of the two men considered to be the USA’s top medal contenders for triathlon will be watching from the sidelines. Reed’s victory in Tuscaloosa prompted some speculation as to how the race would have changed if the swim had been a non-wetsuit swim in order to better match the conditions in Beijing, where the water will be above the temperature threshold for wetsuits. Potts, is regarded as one of the best swimmers in the sport of triathlon. It was thought that without the equalizing effect of wetsuits, he may have had a greater lead coming out of the water. Or perhaps the group of three—Kemper, Reed and Brian Fleishman—that worked together to bridge to Potts would not have come out together and been able to work to close the gap if wetsuits hadn’t been allowed. If the group of three had been a group of two, the race could have unfolded very differently. Or if Potts could have waited for one other fast swimmer to come onto the bike without waiting for all the top contenders to emerge, then maybe his group of two could have held of the chase group of two that surely would have included Reed. That was the speculation in Alabama.

Well, wait a minute… On consecutive weekends, Reed has now beaten Potts. At St. Anthony’s yesterday, Reed showed it wasn’t a fluke in Alabama. In a hard fought race, Reed narrowly out-biked and out-ran Potts for the win. Notably, he posted a swim time just three seconds slower than Potts.

Because the US has to earn each Oly spot and because the third spot earned by the US and won by Reed last week is based on rankings, the US is in jeopardy of losing that third spot. Reed, not by virtue of having secured the third spot but by virtue of being a top-ranked American on the Oly rankings, must race World Cups to maintain a sufficiently high ranking. Hence, he is headed for his third race in as many weeks at the Richards Bay WC next weekend.

In other news, TriSexton.com editor Kevin Collington had a solid race at St. Anthony's to take 5th amid a competitive field. Nice work Kevin! Now spell check this!

Results from St. Anthony's