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2022 Performances...

Monday, 26 September 2022 00:10

Minnesota has been, and continues to be one of the most competitive tri states in the US, and every year about this time, MTN posts the names and resumes of those triathletes that set the highest peformance standards over the past season. Ultimatedly, the nominees, then the winners, of the Minnesota Multisport Honors are named...

The decision to continue, or discontinue, the MMH tradition, which started in 1999, has not yet been made. 

In a perfect world, critieria would be uniformly understood by Selection Committee members. But this is not a perfect world. Predjudices are unavoidable. For example, George (or Georgina) may have a better resume this year, but William (or Willomena) is generally recognized to be a better athlete. The fact that William was not as consistent as George last season, i.e. he had one or two performances that did't rise to the level of "outstanding" or "amateur elite," should have adversely affected his resume, still some Committee members will find it hard to favor George.

Then there's the "focus" issue. Some Committee Members place extra emphasis on head-to-head competition. This usually is very useful, though not allways. In 2017, for instance, a Minnesota athlete outraced at least a half dozen of her credentialled Minnesota peers at a major national event. Several Committee members favored that athlete in one or more Honors categories, but they did so in spite of the fact that that athlete did not have a "competitive" race. She finished well behind the leaders. In other words, her non-competitive performance was better than the non-competitive performance of several of her otherwise highly credentialed peers. 

Then there are times when an athlete truly excels in a non-competitive race. It is likely that that performance will not receive the recognition it deserves. It would be a shame, for instance, if AJ MANNING did not receive serious Performance of the Year consideration for his result at Green Lake Olympic in August. He blew away the long-standing course record by almost six miutes and won the race by more than a 16-minute margin. Still, a relatively slower non-record-setting winning performance at a more competitive race is apt to garner more support from those Selectors that place extra emphasis on races with deeper fields.

Other Selectors place additional value on data. Fast splits, rewritten records etc. This, too, can limit a Selector's ability to fairly evaluate performances. Some races are more "strategic" than others, etc. 

Though the MMH mission is to honor those who either set new standards, or match or approach previously set standards,yet uderstanding that "smart" racing often wins races, albeit with slower times.  It is not always easy make appropriate distinctions. 

So, for now, we are going to post commentary from a couple of Selectors about the 2022 season. We encourage other Selectors to send in comments. In the end, we may not actually name MMH winners, but will have digitally applauded many of the athletes that truly rocked on the Minnesota tri scene, and beyond, in 2022.

On Wednesday, we will talk about some of athletes that improved dramatically last season.