HERE’S THIS MONTH’S collection of short takes on generally off-track activities that have gone/will go a long way towards shaping the way the sport is headed.
A New Barrier For Mondo
The height was only 18-½ (5.50), so no big deal for Mondo Duplantis, right? Trouble was, it was a wall of food, part of a stunt for a commercial for a Swedish grocery chain.
“When I saw the wall, I thought, F—, what have I done?” the WR holder quipped. He described his first attempt: “I was scared. I was hesitant and it felt unnatural. I’m running at full speed towards a wall that I have to get over. It’s no BS, no special effects.”
He crashed. He aborted a second attempt when his phone rang (father/coach on the line). The third time he finally made it over. “I don’t want to be cocky, but there’s no way anyone else could have pulled this off,” he said.
Looking for more power and speed at the end of the runway, the WR holder has increased his runup from 20 to 22 steps. The Swede has said that he started incorporating the longer runup during the indoor season. First impressions: “Really nice.”
Duplantis said it would take some time to master the new approach. “I feel like I hadn’t really made a change in basically any part of the jump… since 5 or 6 years.”
Prior to leaping a world-leading 20-1 (6.12) in the Shanghai Diamond League, he said, “We’ll probably try 22 steps again tomorrow, see how it feels, because I’m still very new to it.”
USATF Names Squad For World Road Champs
The World Road Running Championships will be held September 19-20 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The U.S. team includes 3 AR holders in road events: Weini Kelati (Half-Mar), Conner Mantz (Half-Mar) and Yared Nuguse (mile).
The larger-than-usual half marathon contingent for the women is due to the wrong turn at the USATF Half-Marathon Championships. The three who crossed the finish line first have been allowed to compete in Copenhagen as non-scoring athletes, whereas the ones who were leading prior to the late-race snafu will be the scorers for the U.S. team.
Mile
Vincent Ciattei, Nuguse, Gracie Hyde, Addie Wiley.
5K
Drew Hunter, Dylan Jacobs, Courtney Frerichs, Karissa Schweizer.
Half-Marathon
Hillary Bor, Wesley Kiptoo, Mantz, Ahmed Muhumed, Emma Grace Hurley, Kelati, Ednah Kurgat, Jess McClain. Non-scoring—Molly Born, Carrie Ellwood, Annie Rodenfels.
Coaches: Devon Martin (women), Chris Lundstrom (men).
Coventry’s Stance On Olympian Pay
IOC head Kirsty Coventry, an Olympic swimmer for Zimbabwe, probably didn’t get a rush of athletes joining her fan club after she was quoted as saying, “I don’t believe in paying athletes.”
The head of the Olympic movement, which brought in $12B in revenue during the last 4-year cycle, added, “I come from a small country, I came from a sport that doesn’t necessarily pay athletes very well and I still don’t think we should be paying athletes at the Olympic Games.”
Coventry, who swam collegiately for Auburn, added that Olympians are already seeing the benefits of the IOC’s massive revenues: “They get beautiful venues. They get beautiful villages. They get a beautiful experience. And all of that comes from the money that we raise.”
In a subsequent damage-control statement, she clarified that it is Olympic prize money that she objects to: “This would benefit only a very small number of athletes. I do believe our role as the IOC is to find ways to directly support a large number of athletes on their journey to becoming Olympians, at the Olympics and as they transition into life after sport.”
Bad Hammy Fells Holloway
Grant Holloway reveals he has been dealing with hamstring issues that kept him from competing in the indoor season.
The Olympic gold medalist posted, “Back in January what I thought was just a nag or a small tweak ended up being a strain. Unfortunately, I tore my hamstring in March, but we’ve been attacking recovery ever since and things are trending in the right direction!
“I built this brand off being myself, staying consistent, and always putting in the hard work no matter the circumstances. This setback is just another chapter in the story. Excited to start getting back on hurdles, building back up, and competing near you guys again soon!”
“Enhanced” Fails To Live Up To Its Name
After many months of hype, the Enhanced Games debuted in Las Vegas on Memorial Day weekend with little more than a whimper. Fred Kerley, who had predicted that Usain Bolt’s World Record would be “destroyed,” won the 100 in a modest 9.97.
The only other track event was the women’s 100, where Tristan Evelyn, a Barbadian sprinter who didn’t make it out of the heats at the Paris Olympics, won in an unimpressive 11.25. There was a WR set in a swimming event.
What was impressive were the payouts. Winners got checks for $250,000 in front of an invitation-only audience. Both Kerley and Evelyn competed as clean athletes, defined as those not taking part in the Enhanced Games medically-supervised doping program using FDA approved PEDs.
“We are here to stay. We have changed the world tonight,” said CEO Maximillian Martin. “We did expect a few more World Records but this is live sports.”
Plans are being made for a ’27 edition, organizers saying they will offer $10 million to any athlete who can surpass Bolt’s 9.58.
Start Saving For LA28 Tickets
Early ticket sales for the next Olympics have critics saying that extra fees have made the tickets far more expensive than anticipated, and many are simply unavailable.
Service charges of nearly 24% raised eyebrows, and Opening Ceremony ducats have hit $5519.
State lawmakers in Sacramento have questioned the costs and availability, discussing the matter at a legislative hearing in May. Said Senator Ben Allen, “I know that there’s this promise of a million $20 tickets, but is the choice going to be between winning the lottery and getting one of those $20 tickets?”
An LOC official argued that the first phase of ticket sales reflected massive demand, with over 4 million sold. That included 500,000 tickets for $28 seats (sans service charge). He added that 95% of tickets below $100 were sold during the local pre-sale. “We want the people who live in the heart of these games to be able to participate in them.”
USATF Claims Clean Audit
In response to USOPC concerns, USATF has announced that it hired an outside legal firm to conduct an audit of its governance practices and came up largely clean.
A letter of concern from the USOPC came in December ’24 in reference to “allegations of potential noncompliance by USATF with the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act and NGB Compliance Standards.”
The USATF Board Audit Committee interviewed 5 law firms suggested by USOPC and hired Beveridge & Diamond to do the investigation, which encompassed 21 interviews and thousands of pages of documents. According to the USATF letter to its membership, “B&D’s independent investigation did not find financial fraud, misappropriation of funds, election misconduct, or conflict of interest violations.”
There were recommendations, which USATF president and chair Curt Clausen says “will be implemented in a timely fashion.”
Said CEO Max Siegel, “Throughout this process, we have maintained that the claims made against USATF were false. This investigation validated what we knew all along; there was no fraud or financial malfeasance.” ◻︎
