Commentary by Michael J. Stott
While the swimming community basks this week in the excitement of the Olympic team selection it is instructive to acknowledge some underlying elements regarding the competitive landscape itself. Several elements have medical overtones. One has to do with the size of the Games themselves and how it affects athlete relay participation, while the other has to do with health concerns and issues of fair play.
FINA rule 1.06 addresses relays and the rules of engagement for selected relay team members. Relay squad size is restricted to six. Should six athletes be selected FINA mandates that each swim at least once in prelims or finals. According to a March 2015 ruling regarding Rio in 2016 the relay qualification is spelled out as follows: “If a NOC enters relay-only swimmers for a specific event, those swimmers must swim either in the heat or final of that relay event. Should a relay-only swimmer not compete, this will lead to disqualification of the respective team in the final.â€
In the Olympics, especially in this day and time, size matters. “The intention of the rule is to cap the size of meets/entrants and the exponential mushrooming of required support staff,†suggests James W. Miller, FAAFP/Sports Medicine and National Team Physician for USA Swimming. Miller is also one of 10 members of the FINA Sports Medicine Committee. Attempting to cap Games size makes sense given the difficulty of countries without the existing infrastructure or resources to properly host the quadrennial spectacle.
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