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Last year a brand new road to the Meet of Champions was paved. This year follows that same formula and the only tweak was adding an extra individual automatic qualifier from each Group which bumped up from just two athletes to the top three in each event. Note that automatic qualifying for the relays remains at the top two finishers.
The Advancement Rules
Individual Events - Both Track and Field
- There will be 36 athletes who advance in each individual event.
- Place Advancement: The top THREE finishers in each individual event from each group, making 18 automatic qualifiers.
- Wild Cards: The combined top nine next best performances from each Group meet location that haven't qualified already by place, making 18 wild cards.
Relay Events
- 24 teams will advance in each relay event.
- Place Advancement: The top two finishers in each Group, forming 12 automatic qualifiers.
- Wild Cards: The combined next six best times from each Group meet location that haven't qualified already by place, forming 12 wildcards.
Note that the wildcards were split between each Group Championship location to account for different weather conditions. If one site had a weather or wind advantage it won't take up all of the wildcards.
Ending Notes
Last year this qualifying format cut down the time of the meet considerably and every heat brought high competition. The rules committee listened to feedback and added the extra individual qualifier from each Group to create a more natural cutoff (gold, silver, bronze) as well as to give back some of the ensured representation for the smaller group sizes.
Results and Coverage from the Outdoor Meet of Champions 1996-2018
