![\"\"](\"https:\/\/trackandfieldnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/GH-02-14-788x1024.jpg\")
THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS WAS BETTER than the World Championships Trials in an area that you may not have noticed: it used all the available lanes. I said that in this space last year and it\u2019s worth saying again.<\/p>\nTHE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS WAS BETTER than the World Championships Trials in an area that you may not have noticed: it used all the available lanes. I said that in this space last year and it\u2019s worth saying again.<\/p>\n
The new version of Hayward Field has 9 lanes all around and just as in \u201921 the collegians utilized them all in every by-lane final this year. The Trials, on the other hand, used just 8, not only leaving an unsightly vacancy but also depriving another high-level athlete the chance to move on to the semis and\/or contest the all-important final. And that could have been accomplished without creating any extra traffic that would negatively affect the competition as a whole.<\/p>\n
As it was, the ugly-gap look played out in spades: three reigning world champs (Christian Coleman 100, Grant Holloway 110H, Nia Ali 100H) availed themselves of their Wild Cards \u2014 a scenario with which I have no problem \u2014 and those three primo events all had an unsightly blank space for the final that didn\u2019t have to be that way.<\/p>\n
Back when I was doing announcing work for the IAAF at the Olympics and World Championships, more than once I raised this topic. To no avail. The standard answer was, \u201cWe need the ninth lane in case there are unbreakable ties.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I responded with, \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, why don\u2019t you only use 7 lanes on 8-lane tracks?\u201d the typical response was a blank stare. I\u2019ve still heard no good rationale for this setup. In these days with reliable 1000th-second timing available to break ties, the likelihood of having 10 people qualify is so remote as to be irrelevant.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s just suppose that the unthinkable happens and you have too many people: no problem. All that needs be done is to rewrite the qualifying protocol. For a 9-lane facility, instead of specifying \u201c3 semis, qualify 2+2\u201d simply change the wording to \u201cqualify 2+2, or where possible 2+3.\u201d The meet goes off without a hitch and those ugly vacant corridors don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard naysayers kvetch that it would be unfair to field eventers (where only 8 get to the final 3 rounds) if they went to a lane-filled 9. This conveniently ignores the fact that there\u2019s already a lack of parity among running events. Allow me to present the 1500 and steeple finals at USATF, which had, respectively, 12 runners and 14 in their finals. There\u2019s always going to be some differences across events.<\/p>\n
Empty lanes in 9-lane finals aren\u2019t the only blanks which frustrate me. In anything beyond the first round \u2014 be it quarterfinal, semifinal or final \u2014 there should never be an empty lane no matter how many chutes the track has.<\/p>\n
On a standard 8-lane track, rounds are of course designed to fill all the lanes. It\u2019s not remotely uncommon, however, to have some qualifier come up injured. That lane then lies fallow in the next round.<\/p>\n
Why? Why not have a protocol whereby the next athlete in the qualifying queue is on standby, and allowed to warm up for the race? If the person ahead of them has to withdraw, voil\u00e0! no empty lane.<\/p>\n
Now more often than not Athlete #9 won\u2019t have an impact on the medals, particularly in the non-straightaway races where they\u2019d be drawn in the tight confines of lane 1. But think how much satisfaction they\u2019d enjoy from competing in the next round.<\/p>\n
And the optics are so much better.<\/p>\n
Using a fill-the-lanes protocol, next up in the 110H would have been Aaron Mallett, and he noticed, tweeting, \u201cWhat\u2019s the rule about not filling the lanes at a National championship when you have a DNS 1.5 hours before the final? Put the next man\/woman up!! We work too damn hard and y\u2019all know it!!\u201d<\/p>\n