You’d think winning the Olympic Trials would mean you’re on the Olympic team, but unfortunately for Boulder triathlete Matt Reed, it wasn’t that simple.
Because of his sport’s complex Olympic qualifying procedures, Reed made the Olympic team, only to have his spot jeopardized through no fault of his own. Then he went out and earned it for the second time.
To do that, Reed made unplanned trips to World Cups in South Africa and Spain in May, chasing world-ranking points when he would have preferred to be training, and he couldn’t relax until June 8 — eight weeks after he won the Olympic Trials — when he finished fifth at the world championships in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, two men whom many regard as America’s two best triathletes — Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper of Colorado Springs — must compete Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, for the third and final spot on the team. One will be the odd man out.
Thus, USA Triathlon finds itself in a position in which one of its best athletes definitely won’t make the Olympic team, and it almost was in a position in which the guy who won the Olympic Trials couldn’t be on the team.
The idea when the process began was that one spot would go to the top U.S. finisher in a World Cup on the Beijing Olympic course in September, with other spots going to the winner of the Olympic Trials on April 19 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the athlete with the best two results from Beijing, Tuscaloosa or the upcoming race in Des Moines.
But unheralded Jarrod Shoemaker had the race of his life in Beijing and was the top American (11th), putting the pressure on Potts, Kemper and Reed, who own more accomplished resumes.
“We wanted to name one athlete a year out on the Olympic course,” said Scott Schnitzspahn, sport performance director for USA Triathlon. “We figured whoever can perform in that environment will have our best chance for a medal, and giving them a whole year to prepare would give them the best chance at a medal in 2008.”
The next priority was to reward consistency, hence the spot going to the athlete who had the best two results from Beijing, Tuscaloosa and Des Moines.
All of that was predicated on the expectation that the U.S. would get three men’s spots in the Olympics, and the third spot would automatically go to the winner of the Olympic Trials. But while Reed, Kemper and Potts were focused on training for the trials, nobody was competing on the World Cup, and the overall world ranking of the U.S. men declined to the point at which the U.S. was in danger of having only two spots in Beijing.
And so, while Kemper and Potts trained for Des Moines, Reed had to compete in World Cup races in South Africa on May 4 and Spain on May 25 — two races he otherwise would have skipped to train for the world championships and the Olympics — to chase points and secure that third spot for the U.S. He finished second and 10th, respectively.
“It was a weird situation,” said Reed, a naturalized American from New Zealand, “but it all turned out the best way for me — and for the U.S.”
The U.S. ranking wouldn’t have been an issue if not for Kemper being injured in 2007 and Reed coming off a long illness.
“When they start to get sick and injured and then focus on trials races, it snowballed into leaving Matt almost into having to qualify twice,” Schnitzspahn said. “He’s got his spot now and we’ve got our three slots. We owe a lot to Matt for doing that.”
Meanwhile, Kemper and Potts must duel Sunday for that third spot.
“I’d hate to be in their shoes now, having to fight it out for the last spot,” Reed said. “They’re so similar. They’re both really strong, really good athletes. It’s a shame because they’re both worthy of an Olympic berth and I’m sitting back, pretty.”
