Trials and Tribulations

As the U.S. Olympic Trials resume after a two-day hiatus, I've been thinking about how the Trials meet often turns out to be "better" than the Olympics themselves. I don't mean better in the sense that the performances will be better or that the athletes are superior, I mean better in the sense of being more dramatic and emotionally compelling, producing outcomes that you want to talk about for days or weeks afterwards when you're no longer sitting in front of the T.V. watching it all unfold in real time.

As an example, at our track workout on Tuesday evening, a spirited discussion broke out about whether Shalane Flanagan showed good sportsmanship by taking the lead and slowing the pace to allow her teammate Lisa Uhl to make contact with the pack after falling back to tie a shoelace. Of course this action didn't help those who, like Natasha Roegers, were chasing the Olympic A standard. From the women's 10K, we went on to talk about Curtis Beach, Alan Webb, Galen Rupp, Ritz, Allyson Felix, etc., etc. The point is that these trials have already produced human stories more interesting than most reality shows.

Ever since Aeschylus and the ancient Greeks we've known that the most compelling formula for drama is to place human beings in near-impossible situations and watch them suffer and self-destruct, or at best endure.

As the stakes grow higher and the strain increases, most of us -- and the athletes at the trials are no exception -- have a hard time maintaining our carefully controlled manners and begin revealing the turmoil within. Sometimes what is revealed is not flattering; sometimes it's poignant and heart-wrenching.

How great was it to see Ritz make the team in the 10K after finishing fourth in the trials? How painful was it to see Alan Webb struggle home last in the 1500? Did Bumbalough behave badly in the 5000 heats? Did Rupp? Should Jeremy Wariner have spoken to the media after failing to make the team in the 400? Under the stress, they all seem flawed and all-too-human.

I might be wrong (I hope I am), but I don't think I'll feel the same way about London. Making the team is such an accomplishment in itself, that not winning a medal or not making the finals of the Olympics seems like a misfortune or missed opportunity, but not a tragedy. I have the feeling that not making the team is much, much worse.

So... back to the meet in a few hours. There's so much more drama left. heck, we still don't know who's on the team in the women's 100. Far from being incidental, our experience watching how the athletes handle the stress -- how they show good or bad sportsmanship, how they handle failure or success -- is what keeps us emotionally involved in the outcome, providing us with catharsis.

They're not called trials for nothing.