Durango athletes Carmen Small and Laura Thweatt are both looking to join local mountain biker Howard Grotts in vying for positions on the US Olympic Team to compete in Brazil next month, though they’re currently taking different paths to get there.
Thweatt’s fate will be determined today, July 7, based upon her performance in the USA Track & Field Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, and how she does in the 5,000-meter run.
Small is challenging USA Cycling’s (USAC) selection process that left her off the women’s road cycling team announced two weeks ago. She is taking the committee’s decision to arbitration, and to date has raised over $13,500 to support her attorney’s fees from 169 people who want to see the decision re-considered. They are not the only ones who want to see Small put Durango on the map when she competes in Rio.
The divergent paths have some to do with a crowded field of talented athletes and a set number of team spots, and some with the selection process. Track and field, swimming, diving and gymnastics are among the many sports that hold Olympic trials and designate specific events at which athletes compete for a spot on the team. Cycling is different. Formal Olympic trials have not been held for road cycling selection since the 2004 Athens Olympics.
USAC has an established selection procedure for the 2016 Olympic Games, 23 pages long. It identifies the criteria and philosophy that applies to both automatic and discretionary selections and was developed by a nine-member selection committee, all of whom must have participated as an Olympic athlete or been employed as a professional in one of the Olympic cycling disciplines. Megan Guarnier, ranked second internationally among elite women cyclists by the Union Cycliste Internationale, was automatically selected to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team when she earned bronze at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.
Factors considered in the discretionary selections include results in Women’s World Tour races, past Olympic Games and world championships. The discretionary selections are what leave Small and her fans questioning the fairness and objectivity of the committee’s decision. She is not seeking to replace a rider. She plans to contest the selection process, which she has described as convoluted and difficult to understand.
Small’s arbitration will take place next Tuesday and is one of several by U.S. cyclists over the last 12 years. It will be conducted by an independent arbitrator both parties have agreed upon in advance. If the established criterion was deemed to be followed, the decision will be upheld. If not, it will go back to USAC for re-consideration.
Whether Small makes it to Rio or not, her actions are helping future Olympic cycling hopefuls. Derek Bouchard-Hall, USAC’s CEO, recently expressed publicly that he and the USAC board would like to see more Olympic trials implemented for the 2020 Games. They are also planning to rewrite their selection criteria and revisit their approach to selecting Olympians, both actions we fully support.
Small, Thweatt and Grotts deserve huge congratulations for the extraordinary effort they have exerted in physically and mentally preparing for a chance to represent their country and hometown. Regardless of the outcome, both women and Grotts should know Durango is proud and with them every step of the way.
