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.
Swimmer Coventry To Take Over At IOC
Seb Coe’s bid for the presidency of the IOC fell far short, as the March 20 vote was surprisingly decided on the first ballot.
The winner, Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, is a 7-time Olympic medalist in swimming and multiple NCAA champ for Auburn. Coventry won 49 of the 97 votes cast — the exact number needed for a win — with 28 going to Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch and Coe receiving only 8.
The election of Coventry, the first woman and the youngest-ever president at 41, is being heralded as a change to the “old boys club” aura that has surrounded the IOC for decades. Critics, however, have pointed out that she was the candidate favored by outgoing president Thomas Bach, and that her positions on key issues have not diverged from his.
Said Coe, “I’m absolutely delighted for Kirsty. And we’ve got an athlete at the head of the organization. That’s a good thing. We chatted actually about that only a couple of weeks ago and agreed that that would be the preferred outcome.”
Coe, now 68, is in his third and final term as WA president, as he will reach the end of the maximum 12 years in office in ’27. His membership on the IOC is conditional on that role, so under current rules, he would then be done there as well.
Crouser’s New Shot Series
An entirely new look is coming to the shot, thanks to Ryan Crouser. The triple Olympic champion will be debuting his World Shot Put Series at the Drake Relays on April 23.
The contest will involve a “king of the ring” format, somewhat similar to the vertical jumps. Athletes will have to throw past a designated line starting at 30 or 40 feet. They will have two tries to get past that line or be eliminated. The line will advance 10 feet at a time until it reaches 60-feet, where the increments will go to 2 feet. After 70-feet, the increments will be 1 foot each. Ties will be broken by the total number of misses, except for the top spot. Any ties for the win will lead to a throw-off.
The referees will have an expanded role, complete with throwing both arms up to celebrate successful attempts. With minimal measuring, it is hoped the competition can move much faster than a typical throws competition.
At Drake, there will be an open category in addition to the pro field of about 8 athletes. The pro throwers are also going to get one challenge per competition, a flag they can throw out to earn an additional attempt.
Says Crouser, “I’m very excited about the launch of WSPS as an opportunity to grow the sport of track & field and highlight what makes our sports special.”
Drake director Blake Boldon says, “It’s especially invigorating to see the World Record holder take matters into his own hands after a century of consistent competition format in his event.”
USATF Has New Baton Head
Darryl “D2” Woodson will be the new Team USA relay coach, following the dismissal of Mechelle Freeman and Mike Marsh last month. Woodson served as an assistant relay coach at both the ’21 and ’24 Olympics.
Woodson coached the relay teams at the World Indoor, helping the U.S. to a pair of gold medals. He will report directly to USATF’s Wallace Spearmon and Michael Nussa. The Texas-based Woodson runs a private coaching business, Training Ground Elite; notable past clients have included Bianca Knight and Mike Rodgers.
Said Chief of High Performance Operations Robert Chapman, “USATF has an ambitious target of 5 gold medals in the relay events at LA28. Anything less would be selling our athletes, coaches, and country short. Darryl Woodson is the ideal coach to lead our new model.”
No More LA Grand Prix?
After a couple of promising stagings, USATF’s Los Angeles Grand Prix appears to be no more. The meet, which showcased high-level competition including a Ryan Crouser WR in the shot in its inaugural ’23 edition, no longer appears on the World Athletics calendar. Nor is it on the USATF events calendar.
The Sports Examiner speculates the disappearance has a lot to do with poor ticket sales, long a challenge in the crowded LA sports market.
Last year, ticket prices ranged from $30 to $175, and organizers reported that the Premium level ($75) was 96% sold, while the highest level was said to have “only a few tickets left.” However, paid admissions were reportedly only around 3000 for UCLA’s Drake Stadium, which has a capacity of 11,142.
Originally scheduled for June 7-8, the meet might have even faced more ticket competition with the final Grand Slam Track event scheduled for the same stadium three weeks later.
Noted HS Coach Suspended
Gerald Phiri, the former coach of the powerful Montverde Academy program in Florida, has been provisionally suspended following a joint investigation by the AIU and USADA.
The March 17 suspension was “triggered by three athletes — all coached by Phiri — returning Adverse Analytical Findings for the same prohibited substance,” according to the AIU release.
That substance, GW1516 (Cardarine), is the metabolic modifier that was cited in the suspension of Montverde star Issam Asinga, who was heralded as the fastest prep ever until his ban was announced for a ’23 negative finding. The AIU did not name any of the three athletes in its release, as some of the cases are still being adjudicated.
Phiri, 36, was a Zambian Olympian and formerly ran for Texas A&M, the school that signed Asinga. He is no longer listed as a coach on the Montverde website. ◻︎
