sprinting and cycling

[x5x3]

maybe this is public knowledge but I missed it,

what is the rationale behind the decision to limit the cycling events to one per nation but not do the same for the sprinting?

[bexVN]

I know Chris Boardman was discussing this I think last night but I'm sorry to say I didn't listen properly, hopefully someone here caught it!

I know it was decided by the cycling board.

[obob]

Because if you had one from each nation in sprinting it might as well be Usain Bolt running by himself.

[anonymous-user]

I think the UCI decide these things.

[tertius]

It is not just cycling and athletics that differ - e.g. Swimming with multiple entrants from the same country.

I assume it is a massive political bun fight to "agree" these things.

Presumably the cycling one is to stop us winning all the medals?

[john2443]

The UCI decided it in order to prevent one country winning everything. Didn't work though

Edit - because Cycle sprinting is 1:1 we could have ended up with Kenny v Hoy in teh final and got a 1,2. Whereas in the 100m there are 8 going at once so other countries in there who can win and one country won't get 1 & 2.

& 3.

Oh!?

Edited by john2443 on Thursday 9th August 22:06

[x5x3]

thanks for the replies - but does anyone know the actual reason?

[Engineer1]

It's the UCI's game and if they don't like how it's being played they will strop off with the ball.

[aspender]

That is the real reason. It was a reaction to the results from Beijing. A ham-fisted attempt to stop domination from a single country.

What is has meant in effect is that a lot of top athletes are sat at home doing nothing, or are not able to compete in all the events that they previously could (Hoy as a case in point.) Only four of the 2012 World Championship Men's Sprint quarter finalists were in the Olympic men's sprint.

In addition, only one match sprint across 14 in the men's and women's competition went to the third heat of a best out of three because the gap between the top few and the rest was simply too big.

[llewop]

john2443 said:

The UCI decided it in order to prevent one country winning everything. Didn't work though

Edit - because Cycle sprinting is 1:1 we could have ended up with Kenny v Hoy in teh final and got a 1,2. Whereas in the 100m there are 8 going at once so other countries in there who can win and one country won't get 1 & 2.

& 3.

Oh!?

Edited by john2443 on Thursday 9th August 22:06

exactly - even more bonkers is the comparison with swimming - about every combination of distance and stroke imaginable, whereas cycling limit it to only a dozen or so - with some events being dropped. The only reason Phelps has got so many medals is he has so many events he can enter (okay - not the 'only' reason, but other dominant individuals don't get so many chances - the main limit for him is how often on a given day he can get in the pool and do enough to get to the finals)

Fair enough the governing body of each sport should be part of determining the events and entry conditions, but it needs to be more consistent when you're looking at them all side by side.