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 Change In Prep XC Nationals
Undeniably there is a certain “the king is dead, long live the king” vibe to recent announcements about the Foot Locker XC Championships. An important fixture on the prep national scene since its inception in ’79 as the Kinney meet, the event was canceled by its corporate sponsor after 45 years.
According to a statement on the website on August 21, “After thoughtful and careful consideration, Foot Locker has made the difficult decision to conclude the annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLXC). As we look to the future, this strategic decision reflects our ongoing commitment to evaluating where we can make the most meaningful impact for our business, our customers, and the communities we serve, including the running community.”
It didn’t take long — 8 days in fact — for Brooks to jump into the fray and announce its own nationals. It will be using a similar template, with 4 Regional meets qualifying 40 elite runners for a national final on December 13 in San Diego’s Balboa Park. Fleet Feet will be the cosponsor.
Said Alaina Fuld of Brooks: “We host the premier track meet in the spring and it’s important to us to offer the quality experience for cross country runners. We have a multi-year deal and are working with Fleet Feet. We want to continue to offer a unique opportunity.”
No World Champs For Gabby Thomas
The U.S. medal count for Tokyo may have taken a hit with the news that Gabby Thomas, who brought home 3 golds from Paris, cannot compete because of an Achilles injury.
“As an athlete you always want to keep grinding, but sometimes you simply can’t outwork an injury,” her release said. “Sometimes it’s about patience and making the right decision for the long term. All the best to my Team USA teammates fighting for medals in Tokyo.”
Thomas hasn’t raced since the USATF meet, where she placed 3rd in the 200 and ran one round of the 100 before withdrawing. Observers noted that she did not seem to be racing comfortably.
As The Japanese Call It, “Mushi Atsui”
Japan is having its hottest summer since it started recording weather readings in 1898, with average temperatures 4.24 degrees (2.36C) more than usual. The expectation is that the hot weather will break by mid-September.
The conditions could affect the World Championships, which begin on September 13. What could this mean for spectators and athletes? Daily highs for the first half of the event are expected to range from 87 to 90 (31-32C), with high humidity.
The local organizing committee says that World Athletics will be making all decisions related to the heat. WA has indicated it will make decisions on the ground if the heat index tops 30C.
Note that heat is not the only risk. This is also monsoon season in the western Pacific. Said one Japanese official, “If a direct hit on Tokyo is imminent, measures such as planned suspensions of public transportation will be implemented. In such circumstances we will examine the situation and respond accordingly.”
Lutkenhaus Opts For The Pro Route
In the buildup for Tokyo, high schooler Cooper Lutkenhaus got one important piece of business out of the way. The 16-year-old, just starting his junior year at Northwest High in Justin, Texas, has become the youngest track athlete to sign a professional contract with Nike.
In doing so, Lutkenhaus will no longer be eligible to compete at the high school or college level. Instead, he has jumped into the deep end of the pool and may be competing regularly against the sport’s best.
His father George told Runners World, “Our whole goal with everything was we want to keep everything the same as possible, if that’s possible. If something’s not broken, let’s not try to fix it. He’s happy, he’s running well, so we’re going to stick to that.”
Chris Capeau, the school’s track and cross country coach, will continue to mentor Lutkenhaus.
A Call For Harsher Bans
Lifetime bans for doping? Gabby Thomas says she is one vote in favor.
On Instagram, she posted: “Doping coaches should be banned for life from coaching in the sport. Whether you were banned while competing as an athlete or caught distributing as a coach (for some, both). I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care. If you train under a coach who is known for doping (once, twice, or even three times for some) you are complicit. That’s my stance.”
On X, Thomas added, “When I graduated from college, I came into this sport sooo naïve. After six years, I just want better for athletes. We deserve it. My goal is to leave this sport better than I found it.”
Right-to-work laws in Europe have made lifetime bans not a feasible option in the past.
Kerley Gets Smacked Again
This has hardly been a dream season for Fred Kerley, with the fallout from a pair of high-publicity arrests distracting his training (see “Last Lap,” February & May). He stopped racing in early July, and his last DL was on June 6 in Rabat.
Now comes the news that he has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for whereabouts failures.
His lawyer issued a release, saying, “Kerley has already notified the AIU that he intends to contest the allegation that he has violated the anti-doping rules related to whereabouts failures, as he strongly believes that one or more of his alleged missed tests should be set aside either because he was not negligent or because the Doping Control Officer did not do what was reasonable under the circumstances to locate him at his designated location.
“Fred will not comment further at this time out of respect for the process, and he looks forward to presenting his case to the appointed hearing panel.”
Next Year The “Ultimate Championships” Debut
World Athletics has just started its promotional campaign for the big meet of the ’26 season, the inaugural WA Ultimate Championships, set for Budapest, September 11–13.
The first athlete to be publicly hailed for committing? The ultimate big name, vault WR holder Mondo Duplantis.
Getting other big names to sign on looks to be quite feasible, especially with a $10 million prize pot, the biggest in the sport. Winners will be getting $150,000.
The meet won’t highlight all the standard events (no steeple, 10K, walks, SP, DT, men’s TJ, women’s HT, or standard relays). It will be compacted into 3 days of action, sessions under 3 hours, with the field events being straight finals and most of the running events featuring two rounds.
Now the search has begun for the city that will host the ’28 version of the meet. The bidding deadline is October 01.
How About College As A Job?
The traditional 4-year college athletic career (which is actually 4 seasons within 5 years) may soon become a thing of the past, warns Rich Perelman in his Sports Examiner newsletter.
As a number of important legal challenges wend their way through the courts, the odds increase that some of these may be decided by the Supreme Court, “which has shown high interest in economic freedom and relaxing constraint wherever possible.”
Continues Perelman, “That means the 5-year-rule could be eliminated by June of 2027 at the latest, opening the door to essentially “lifetime” college players who can be on teams as long as they remain in school, earning bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and PhDs and new formats not yet conjured up by athletic departments.
“This is insanity.”
Edwards Has Concerns About His WR
In interviews about the 30th anniversary of his triple jump WR, Britain’s Jonathan Edwards noted that the mark’s longevity is not necessarily a good thing.
“I don’t think it’s a good sign for athletics as a sport that you have a record that stands for 30 years,” he says of his 60-¼ (18.29) effort at the ’95 WC.
“When you think of all the developments in sports science, nutrition, training methods, all of those things, I don’t think it necessarily speaks to a really healthy and thriving sport, if I’m honest.”
Noting that the sport “doesn’t offer the same rewards as other sports,” he added, “If you’re a talented young kid, you wouldn’t necessarily pick track & field. You wouldn’t certainly pick a field event where the rewards are less than on the track.”
What’s Up With Russia?
Does the change in leadership at the IOC mean a change in its policy of keeping Russia out of major championships because of its doping past and its ongoing invasion of Ukraine?
That’s still up in the air, it seems. New president Kirsty Coventry told L’Équipe, “No decision has been made.”
In the past, Coventry has defended the IOC’s stance under past president Thomas Bach, calling the Russian ban from Paris “very fair.”
In early September Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had called Coventry to urge Russia’s continued ban, which includes the ’26 Winter Games in Cortina, Italy. Said Zelenskyy, “Not only Ukraine, but many other countries defending life equally count on the IOC to maintain the principled stance it upheld during the Paris Games toward aggressive Russia and its accomplice, Belarus.”
All’s Well In Bednarek vs. Lyles
Fans at the USATF Championships came close to seeing fisticuffs on the track after Noah Lyles beat Kenny Bednarek in the 200 final.
As they approached the finish (see August issue cover), Lyles gave Bednarek an extended stare-down that continued after the line, running into his rival’s path to continue the staring.
That’s when Bednarek responded with a shove. Lyles turned around and seemed to be inviting a public fight, dancing backward and taunting Bednarek. They then spoke and shook hands.
Later, Bednarek said that he thought Lyles was “unsportsmanlike.” He added, “The summary is, don’t do that to me. I don’t do any of that stuff. It’s not good character right there.”
Lyles only said, “On coach’s orders, no comment.”
With some time to calm down, Bednarek told CNN Sports, “I feel like we both could have handled that situation a little bit differently and with more respect… But we both decided to discuss the situation after the event was done and that’s what we did. We had about an hour-long conversation and it was a really good, honest conversation. We both came to an agreement with things and we’re good now.” ◻︎
