re: Why is Haleigh Bryant not on the U.S. Olympic team?

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Only one of the LSU gymnasts

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Konnor McClain

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The reason why Alieah is competing for the Philippines is because it is easier to make their team

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(Think Mondo Duplantis).

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Mondo is a little different. These are the reasons that have been enumerated in the past. The first and second were the primary reasons initially, with 2, 3, & 4 plus his appreciation for the early opportunities probably being his primary reasons for continuing. USATF sometimes gets in their own way when it comes to international and Olympic competition selections.

1. By competing for Sweden, Duplantis was able to start competing in pole vaulting at a younger age. Sweden does not have the same age restrictions on competing at the highest levels of the sport. The United States does.

2. Sweden offered to let Mondo's father Greg Duplantis, a former world-class pole vaulter himself, coach him on the Swedish team. The same offer was not made by the U.S. team. Mondo is still coached today by his father Greg, and mother Helena.

3. As it pertains to the Olympics, Sweden selects their Olympians on the totality of their performance over several years, rather than an all-or-nothing Olympic trial.

4. It's more lucrative financially. Pole vaulting is popular in Sweden. It is not a mainstream sport in the United States. Mondo Duplantis is a national superstar in Sweden, viewed with the same regard by Swedes as the country's best soccer players. He was the 2020 World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year and is estimated to be worth millions.