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.
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.
WA Creates A New Major Championships
Seb Coe has long considered a year without an international championship as a marketing fail for the sport. The “WA Ultimate Championships” are his answer to the problem. That’s a 3-day meet set to debut in ’26, then to be held biennially after that. Originally announced by WA in June, more details have now been revealed.
The meet at Budapest’s National Athletics Center on September 11–13, will be packaged in three evening sessions, each lasting about 3 hours. Fields will be drawn from the WA world rankings lists, with no by-nation limits. All reigning Olympic and world champions, along with Diamond League winners, are guaranteed spots.
The events: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 100/110H, 400H, HJ, PV, LJ, TJ (women only), HT (men only), javelin. Two mixed relays will be contested, the 4×1 and 4×4. That’s right: no steeple, 10,000, mTJ, SP, DT, wHT, multis or road events.
Allman Misses Jumps & Throws
Discus gold medalist Valarie Allman is among those who aren’t wild that the latest new meet innovations at Athlos and Grand Slam Track have not included field events.
“Any focus — especially on women’s sports — I think is great. You have to start somewhere to get people interested and tell the stories,” says the Stanford grad. “But I think the beauty of track & field is that ‘circus’ feeling; that you get to see a little bit of everything, and as soon as you start to fragment it, it definitely changes the perception for people.
“Field eventers, they’re out there for an hour on the competition field, there’s always something going on, there’s interesting dynamics and they’re also people that I think want to compete the most. My hope is that these new meets — while exciting — recognize that track & field is a total package.”
No Respect For Throwers?
The news that WA’s Ultimate Championships would only include a single women’s throwing event (the javelin) and two for men (hammer & javelin) did not sit well with Mo Saatara, the Cal assistant who coaches Camryn Rogers, the world/Olympic champ in the hammer.
“World Athletics and those who make decisions continue to disregard and suppress the throwing events,” he posted on Facebook. “They give a lot of excuses: funding, sponsorships, viewership, scheduling, facilities and on and on. Yet when the throws are displayed they receive exceptional viewership and interest.
“It comes down to RESPECT. Currently there are amazing generational and legendary athletes competing in the throws. Specifically in the women’s hammer throw 4 of the 5 ALL-TIME best throwers are actively competing. No Diamond League and now this. GIVE THESE AMAZING MEN AND ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN A CHANCE TO SHINE!”
Jumps & Throws Out, Gym Equipment In?
No, this isn’t an April 1st item: the latest sign the Apocalypse may be upon us is the news that WA is considering creating a World Treadmill Championships in an effort to grow our sport.
WA is reportedly close to signing a deal with a technology company to develop the virtual running scene.
Says WA’s CEO, Jon Ridgeon, “There are millions of people around the world that just go to the gym and run on the treadmill. We should create products for those people. We should have a Treadmill World Championships. You are an athlete if you go for a 30-minute run on a treadmill or if you win an Olympic gold medal in the 100m. It is all athletics.”
Added Seb Coe, “You might have to watch this space, but ultimately, why not?… We have got to take our sport to where people are. That is crucial. Whether it is through virtual, whether it is through Esports, whether it is through treadmill, these are all the things that we want to really explore.”
2 Major WA Meets Set For China Next Year
World Athletics has announced the qualifying procedure for two of its championship meets in ’25—both of them hosted by China.
The World Indoor Champs in Nanjing (March 21–23) will feature fields based on the now-familiar 50-50 ratio, with approximately half the entries bettering the tough qualifying standards and the rest of the fields filled in from performance lists. The lists will span September 01, 2024 to March 09, 2025.
WA has published a “Road to Nanjing 25” online tool to help fans keep abreast of the moving target that can sometimes be the qualification process. U.S. athletes in most events will be selected via the USATF Indoor Championships (Staten Island, New York; February 21–23).
The ’25 World Relay Championships will be held in Guangzhou (May 10–11). Already 16 of the 32 teams in each event qualified at the Paris Olympics. The host nation gets freebie entries, and the remainder of the fields will be filled from a performance list dating from January 01, 2024. The top 14 teams in each event at Guangzhou will earn auto qualifiers to the World Champs in Tokyo in September.
’28 Trials At A New Site?
Through 5 Olympiads, dating back to ’08 (and in ’72, ’76 & ’80 before that), the Olympic Trials have been held at Eugene’s Hayward Field. But with the U.S. hosting the ’28 Games in ’LA, many feel it would make more sense to have the Trials in the same stadium.
USATF head Max Siegel has thrown his support behind an LA Trials. “It is no secret that our desire is to have something in the West Coast, and preferably in LA,” he told the Associated Press. “We’re going to do everything that we possibly can to try to have our Trials [at the Coliseum].”
In the last two Olympic years hosted by the United States, the Trials were held in the Olympic Stadium (Atlanta ’96, Los Angeles ’84). LA Chair Casey Wasserman had previously sounded less than convinced on the idea, saying it, “adds a level of complexity to our planning that I’m not sure is best for the athletes.”
Alphabet Soup Wars In Anti-Doping Realm
The bickering between USADA and WADA continues, with the two feuding anti-doping agencies exchanging harsh letters this fall.
In September, WADA cited complaints from the Central European Anti-Doping Agency that Americans, especially those in the NCAA, are competing at the world and Olympic level “without being sufficiently tested in advance.”
In mid-November, USADA fired back, first releasing a letter from board chair Tobie Smith criticizing WADA for refusing to meet and what he called, “a baseless and false attack on the integrity of U.S. athletes.”
Then USADA head Travis Tygart went even farther: “[WADA’s] claim that ‘90% of American athletes compete outside the protection of the Code’ is unfounded and lacks any factual basis. This figure appears to have been created for effect, as no evidence supports it.
“In fact, millions of athletes are under the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Code in the United States. And all U.S. college athletes competing at the elite Olympic level are fully subject to the WADA Code.
“At this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, 100% of U.S. college athletes who participated were tested in accordance with the WADA Code. Your unfounded statements can only be explained as another deliberate misrepresentation aimed at diverting attention from WADA’s own failings and advancing your agenda of division.”
Roads Hurting Kenyan Track
Road racing is hurting Kenya’s chances in the 10,000 and is the reason Kenyan men did not make the Paris podium, says ’01 world champion Charles Kamathi: “A lot of our young athletes are turning to the roads and we no longer have specialists in the 10,000.”
He added, “We do not have as many athletes competing in the 10,000 at the AK meetings. And those who compete will find themselves taking part in road races the following day. It’s like the athletes are coming to test their body before they move to the roads. When you take part in many road races, you lose the stamina to sprint. You may have the endurance but lack the sprint which is important more so in the final laps.
“In Paris, the Ethiopians took the race to the rest of the field with a high pace and the Kenyans fell for it. In the final lap where the sprint was most necessary, they faded.”
Coach Dan Muchoki agreed, saying, “When you take part in the roads and come to the tartan, the impact of the roads stiffens the joints, affecting stride length and sprinting ability. Look at the greats like Kamathi, [Paul] Tergat and even Eliud Kipchoge; they all built their careers in cross country. Right now, there are not many 10,000m athletes who feature in cross country.”
World Marathon Majors Gets 7th Member
The most elite of marathon circuits, the Abbott World Marathon Majors, just got one race bigger, as the Sydney Marathon has become the seventh member of the club, effective in ’25.
Said Aussie CEO Dawna Stone, “We cannot wait to see our community embrace this race and start planning their visits to run the streets of one of the finest cities in the world.”
An Australian stop is not the only expansion being eyed. Currently, marathons in both Shanghai, China, and Cape Town, South Africa, are vying for inclusion. Both would need to pass a 2-year assessment as Sydney did, so the earliest they could join would be ’26 and ’27. ◻︎