​UPDATE: ​Gabe Grunewald missed the 5000m final, so she might start the 1500m. If she does, it will be three heats to eliminate three women, not two. Our original story appears below.

It's already silly enough that USATF only admits 30 women into an Olympic Trials 1500m first round designed to narrow the field to 24-woman semifinals. But tomorrow's start list indicates that silliness is going to crest into absurdity.

There are three heats of 10 women, with the top six from each heat and the next six fastest times advancing. The start lists for tomorrow, though, include at least four athletes who have zero intention of running the 1500m: Kate Grace, Shelby Houlihan, Gabriele Grunewald, and Katie Mackey.

Grunewald and Mackey said in FloTrack interviews today that if they advance to the 5000m final—something they're extremely likely to do—they'll scratch the 1500m. The 5000m semifinals are tomorrow at 4:20 PM, and the 1500m first round follows at 6:26 PM. Grace's coach, Drew Wartenburg, tweeted today that the 800m Trials champion is not running the 1500m, and Grace explained her decision-making process in a tweet. Houlihan has not shouted from the rooftops that she's scratching the 1500m, but her camp has telegraphed all year that she's focusing on the 5K. As a result, it's unlikely she'll run a 1500m prelim two hours after a 5K semifinal.

If those four don't run, 26 women will start the 1500m. The three heats will have nine, eight, and nine women, with the top six from each heat automatically advancing. That leaves eight women going for six time qualifiers. USATF spokesperson Jill Geer said if there are scratches on the day, the fields will not be filled.

I don't blame USATF for not filling the fields—that would advantage athletes based in or closer to the Pacific Northwest, and it's absurd to expect athletes to come to town and wait for day-of scratches. Having late declarations is a generally pro-athlete policy. But I do blame USATF for originally planning on running three heats to whittle the field down from 30 to 24. Why not admit 33 or 36 athletes, then run prelims to cut the field to 24?

Or, if they're going to admit 30, schedule the 1500m and 5K like the men's. This wasn't an issue for the men because those races were more than 48 hours apart, which gave 5K runners enough time to scratch before declarations became final. For example, Garrett Heath and Riley Masters were entered in both, but after advancing out of the 5K semifinals, they scratched the 1500m before the declarations closed, which let the athletes on the bubble in.

And to be clear, I don't blame athletes like Mackey, Grunewald, and Houlihan. They have qualifying times in both events—unlike the athletes locked out—and are entitled to an insurance policy should they fall in the 5K. If their races were scheduled like the men's, they could make the choice without keeping athletes out.

There might be three heats tomorrow to eliminate two women.