“THE RIGHT TO COMPETE”

DEATH OF NATURAL SELECTION VS INDUCTION OF SELECTION

As human being we have tried to stop natural selection doing multiple things.  Reason why in the developed countries more than one sixth of the total money spent is on health. 

This interferes with “natural selection” for good or bad.  In Mexico we are trying to “induce a selection” choosing our athletes according to characteristics that have very little to do with winning in triathlon or what they call talent identification.

In triathlon, as a requirement to be a “talented athlete” according to the Mexican Federation, the athlete needs to swim 400 meters in 4:40 in a 50 meter-swimming pool; run 1k in 2:44.  Riding the bicycle is not a requirement.  I will talk about this reasoning.  I can go one by one looking at the “talented” athletes chosen by the Federation but the purpose is not to bash them.  They already have enough with what is going on.  Let´s think as a researcher and take two groups: a control group vs. an experimental group.  We can learn something about experimentation using scientific language:

1)    What are the groups and how they were chosen?  This is a key issue.  There is something called “random sample.”  This is something difficult to obtain but unfortunately it is the most important step; otherwise we are comparing apples with oranges.  Because most of our samples are not “random.”  We have to describe with measurable characteristics the kind of population we are dealing with.  In the case of the two groups made by the Mexican Federation, we are trying to compare: an experimental and a control groups. Both of them are “apples;” meaning, the experimental subjects in the two groups are middle class adolescents, practicing sports for at least 10 years competitively, junior category (16-19 years of age).  The difference between the two groups (variables) would be: the EXPERIMENTAL group is boarded at the High Performance Institute in Mexico City, trained by coaches there, pay all expenses by the Nation, and chosen by the Mexican Federation to be in.  The experimental group met criteria for the 400 meters swimming and 1k running.  The CONTROL group lives with their families in their State, trained in two states Oaxaca and Jalisco.  The control group did not meet criteria for the 400 meters swimming.

2)   Once we chose the groups; the intervention with the two groups follows and we measure the result of the intervention with a competition after months.  The intervention is everything related to training in these places AND THE EVALUATION WOULD BE VALIDATED PERFORMING IN A SCHEDULE COMPETITION.

3)   A year after the beginning of the experiment (2010), the results in the Competition (Monterrey 2011) that gave two spots to compete in the Panamerican that took place in Edmonton 2011 are shown below.  The athlete who could not participate in Edmonton could not go to the Worlds.

The first two places in Monterrey were obtained for athletes that did not meet the standards for swimming according to the Mexican Federation.  The fourth, the sixth and the seventh places were also obtained by athletes that did not meet the standards.  THE MEXICAN FEDERATION DID NOT GRANT THE SPOTS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT TALENTED, according to their standards.  See results:

1 603  CERVANTES MARTINEZ HAHASIAH YOSUA   Oaxaca   Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:09:19 (21) 01:15

 00:01:17

 00:27:26 (8) 43.74

 00:00:38

 00:16:05 (1) 03:13

 00:54:45 1 1

2 606  MORENO CASTAÑEDA EDUARDO   Oaxaca   Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:09:12 (16) 01:14

 00:01:19

 00:27:30 (5) 43.64

 00:00:43

 00:16:08 (2) 03:14

 00:54:52 2 2

3 1964  OLIVEROS GAMEZ LUIS OCTAVIO   Guanajuato   Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:08:59 (2) 01:12

 00:01:18

 00:27:42 (2) 43.32

 00:00:58

 00:16:20 (3) 03:16

 00:55:17 3 3

4 549  IBARRA CORIA VINICIO   Jalisco   Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:09:15 (18) 01:14

 00:01:21

 00:27:24 (3) 43.80

 00:00:38

 00:16:45 (4) 03:21

 00:55:23 4 4

5 1017  LOPEZ CASTRO JUAN JOSE   Veracruz  FUNTRIMEX Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:09:00 (4) 01:12

 00:01:17

 00:27:45 (9) 43.24

 00:00:39

 00:16:44 (5) 03:21

 00:55:25 5 5

6 1425  GAYTAN MAGAÑA JUAN PABLO   Jalisco   Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:09:06 (10) 01:13

 00:01:20

 00:27:35 (6) 43.50

 00:00:39

 00:17:03 (6) 03:25

 00:55:43 6 6

7 1755  MANCILLA RODRIGUEZ J. RICARDO   Jalisco   Junior Sprint Var 16-19 A 00:09:24 (26) 01:15

 00:01:21

 00:28:09 (17) 42.63

 00:00:40

 00:16:19 (7) 03:16

 00:55:53 7 7

4)   Even with these results and having other examples: the Mexican Champion that year (2011), Yosua Cervantes, did not meet the standards, see Olimpiada Nacional 2011 in the web page of the Mexican Federation/ASDEPORTE.  The Mexican Federation insists on the protocol but now limiting even more the participation of our athletes for the year 2012.  This is a “horrible gallego joke,” the Mexican Federation is trying to win the odds with such strategy.  This is an unethical protocol that should stop! In medicine we could end up in jail if we pursue such protocol, not to mention that it would not pass the ethical committee.

5)   We already won a legal battle against the Mexican Federation over the “right to compete,” but there is a lot more to do against such stupidity.  They are trying to direct the “natural selection” as we are doing with the “animal kingdom,” using humans as experimental subjects is the acute problem.  They are prohibiting the participation of our athletes in international competitions.  “The right to compete” does not exist in Mexico and hardly in Australia from what I have heard from Macca and Snowsill.

I limited the information and happily give it to you upon request.  You can check “ASDEPORTE,” Monterrey Banamex triathlon 2011 for results on juniors in that competition and who participated for Mexico in the Panamerican Championship the same year www.triathlon.org.  The Mexican Federation has in its files the information regarding the competition in Monterrey but for “strange” reason it is not opening up.