In most situations, a top-three finish will be enough to land an athlete a spot on the Olympic team. That is because, in most events, the top three finishers will have met the Olympic Games ‘A’ standard. In every case in which the top three have met the ‘A’ standard, those three will represent the U.S. in Beijing.
If the top three don’t all have the ‘A’ standard, different standards apply. If an athlete who does not have the ‘A’ standard finishes in the top three and there are at least two athletes with the ‘A’ standard in the final, the top three (or two, if there are only two) will be on the team.
If only one athlete in the final has met the ‘A’ standard, the highest finishing athlete with either an ‘A’ or ‘B’ standard, and only that athlete, will be on the team.
If no athlete in the final has met the ‘A’ standard, the highest finishing athlete with the ‘B’ standard will be on the team.
If no athlete in the final has met either the ‘A’ or ‘B’ standards, no one will be on the team in that event.
The Olympic Games ‘A’ and ‘B’ standards are set by the IAAF, track and field’s international governing body.
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