It’s over. The Paris Olympic Games has ended. Easily one of the greatest Games ever, from a track and field standpoint. Just fantastic competition. We haven’t seen anything like it since the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. Which means that for a lot of fans, this is the best meet they’ve ever witnessed. My favorite events were the men’s 100m. The best field ever assembled, and just tremendous sprinting by everyone in the race. The men’s 4×4, one of the best relays of all time. Competitive from the gun to the tape. With the absolute best anchor showdown in history. The women’s 4×4. Simply a great effort by everyone on the track. The men’s 400m. Just a fantastic stretch run by the medalists.
In reality, this was a meet where I can look at every event and find something superlative to say. Tokyo was a good meet. But what we saw in Paris was the effect of a crowd on the mental/emotional part of competition. It showed just how much of competition is related to emotion. That said, without going through all of the events and results, here are a few thoughts on the competition and athletes.
Sydney McLaughlin Levrone – Sydney is likely the top female athletics athlete on the planet. Her 50.38 WR was spectacular. Clearly comparable to some of the sport’s oldest records. Sydney is clearly one of the best female athletes this sport has ever seen. Possibly one of the best ever in any sport. Is she the face of the sport? Unfortunately, no. Something that seems to bother a lot of people on the internet. Why is she not the face of the sport. For the same reason I said, “likely the top female athletics athlete”. She doesn’t compete enough. We see her a couple of times a year. She wins; runs fast; and she’s on her way. It’s difficult to be the face, if no one gets to see it! I’m not saying she should be loud, boastful, or otherwise trying to gain attention. I am saying that she needs to compete more. Be more visible. That’s if being the face of track and field is something that she wants! If not, then she’s got that on lock. I do know however, that more of Sydney would result in more people watching.
Noah Lyles – On the other hand, we have Noah, who craves the spotlight. And no, I’m not mad at him for it. It takes all kinds in life. That’s something that I think fans need to understand. Noah doesn’t have to fit your definition of an athlete or a champion. He only has to please himself, and those that support him. Noah is unabashedly himself. He loves animae, clothes, and video games. He’s brash, loud, and boastful. And while you may not like him, you watch him. If for no other reason, than to see what he does next. Or to root against him. He is good for the sport, because he makes people look! Even if he isn’t your cup of tea. That said, I think he needs to get back to the 200m. He’s spent the last two years focusing on the 100m, and he’s gotten better. But if he wants to break the 200m record as he claims, he needs to get back to focusing on that. As I believe his 200m has suffered from his chase for 100m glory. He believes that he needs to be great at two events in order to be great. Looking at Sydney, Mondo, Grant Holloway, and Ryan Crouser currently. Bob Beamon, Edwin Moses, and David Rudisha historically. If you’re truly great at something. You’ll be remembered. I think 19.15 would do that for Noah – and I think he’s capable of that. Just my opinion.
The Face of the Sport – For some reason, that I have yet to figure out, today’s sporting fans want everything to boil down to one. The Greatest of All Time. The Face of the Sport. As if it’s impossible for greatness to exist outside of a single individual. In many ways it reflects society’s move towards “group think”, where everyone must think and agree in unison, or you’re wrong/bad, etc. But people are diverse and not all the same, and I think our sport – fans and leadership – needs to understand and embrace that. Or out sport will not grow. We need many “Faces of the Sport” in order to reach a broad audience. And bring in people from various walks of life. The great irony of our sport in my opinion, is that it’s inherently diverse. With multiple disciplines, varied athletes, and the built in ability to attract different types of people. Thus Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Valerie Allman and Katie Moon can all exist at the same time and appeal to different groups of people. While each is a star athlete in her own right. So, I wish people would stop asking who is the face of the sport, and begin embracing it’s many stars. That must start with the media. We must demand that they push many “faces” instead of attempting to focus on one. The Olympics with its massive audience, provided the opportunity to highlight our universe of stars. Yet the media kept repeating a handful of names. That must improve.
Gabby Thomas – Is the perfect example of an athlete that deserves more amplification from the media. She’s one of history’s best in her pet event, the 200m, as well as what should be a role model for young athletes. Note I said athletes, not women! She’s a great role model, period. Tremendous athlete. As quietly she left Paris with three gold medals! But she’s also done well academically. Does great things in her community. And will be working the the medical field when her athletic days are over. Gabby’s very well spoken, and is terrific in interviews. She’s someone I’d like to see the media give more attention. As well as the leadership of track and field. She’s the type of athletes that will draw people in, if you let them see who she is.
Letsile Tebogo – I’ve been watching Letsile since he won his first U20 100m title in Nairobi Kenya in 2021. He is the consummate sprinter. Able to run everything from 100m thru 400m, and run them all well. While he says that he can’t be the face of the sport because he isn’t arrogant or loud, that’s exactly why he should be one of the sports faces! Young quiet unassuming kids need to see that there’s room on the track for them as well. That you just have to be good at what you do to shine. That you don’t have to be loud to be seen. That your accomplishments can speak for you. And there is room for you too. Tebogo shined brightly in Paris without speaking above a whisper. He needs more attention from both media and fans. This young man is great and he’s only 21 years old. He has a very bright future ahead.
Repechage – I hate it. It serves zero purpose in my opinion. We’ve gone from taking the “next best times” after the auto qualifying athletes. To another complete round that is supposed to give everyone “another chance”. But no one has been able to utilize that second chance to then advance from the semis. Because after running an extra round, they enter the semis at a disadvantage! There was nothing wrong with, “next best times” advancement, which left everyone on equal terms. This has been a failure and needs to be dropped, effective immediately. This was change for the sake of change. A bad theme lately with World Athletics.
Mixed Relay – I hate this event. Why? Several reasons, but primarily because in my opinion it serves no purpose as an event. My understanding is that the reason it was created, was so that smaller countries without 400m depth could have a chance. But there were already events for that. Like the DMR and SMR. That’s what the medley relays are for. But my biggest gripe is that it puts athletes in the position of having to choose between what’s best for them versus what’s best for their country. Especially since it’s placed at the beginning of the meet! At the beginning of the meet it puts extra work on your legs BEFORE you contest your individual events. Which is why you don’t see America or Jamaica or Britain putting their best on this relay. Which begs the question, if we’re not getting the best, why are we running it! At the same time, the athletes from the countries that it’s supposed to help have to choose between what’s best for them against national glory. The perfect example this year being Lieke Klaver and Femke Bol of the Netherlands. Klaver should have been a finalist in the 400m, but entered with tired legs and missed. Bol should have been battling with Sydney in the hurdles. But was fatigued after running 47.93 in the relay. Depriving the world of perhaps the greatest and most anticipated matchup of the Games! As Femke went in with tired legs. Yes the Netherlands won the mixed relay because these women chose to run. They were rewarded with gold medals. But it hurt their individual races. As both women ran well off their seasons bests in their individual races. The truth is we shouldn’t be putting athletes in the position to have to make this kind of choice! Just my opinion.
Team USA Relays – I’m going to say some things that will make people mad. But often there’s pain in truth. This year’s relays were full of what I consider poor decisions. Starting with having two prodigy’s at the Trials and focusing on one and ignoring the other. Yes, Quincy Wilson was everywhere in the media after running 44.59 at the Trials and finishing 6th in the final. However Christian Miller ran 9.93, a series of sub 10’s and finished 5th at the Trials – a spot higher that Quincy. If you’re going to invite one to be in the relay pool, you should’ve invited both! And the excuse of lack of international experience that you gave Miller also applied to Wilson! Either take both for the experience, or put them both on the U20 team to gain experience. Then you put Wilson on the track when you knew he wasn’t ready and made him look bad. Knowing he was carrying an injury. Horrible decision. Then you have to sub for Noah in the 4×1 after he developed Covid. Instead of simply taking Lindsey and inserting him for Noah, you make multiple changes and the relay ended up looking like the Keystone cops out there! There were other things that were poorly done, too much to go through here, but suffice it to say that without a medal in the men’s 4×1 since 2004, and no gold since 2000, with the best rosters in the world. It’s time to do something different. Clearly it’s difficult for the current group in charge to make competent decisions. I’ll discuss that in a future post soon.
WA’s Attempts at Change – Speaking of making poor decisions. That’s exactly what keeps coming out of World Athletes, poor decisions. I’ve mentioned two here, the mixed relay and repechage. Both need to go. They’ve also suggested things like eliminating events, and eliminating the take off board for the horizontal jumps. And have given us the current false start rule and jumps foul determination using a horizontal plane. All of which are controversial! Here’s the underlying problem with World Athletics. The assumption that the lack of popularity with track and field, is because of the sport structurally! That the sport needs to be changed. That is failed thinking, and just lazy to be honest. Participation in high school is the highest of any sport, and it’s near the top in college. High school championships across the country fill stadiums. In California it’s standing room only. “Champs” in Jamaica is a hugely popular event. US Nationals draws huge crowds. As do meets like Prefontaine, Zurich, and Brussels. We’ve just finished the Olympics where billions tuned in solely to watch track and field. Because track and field, as is, is immensely popular. So, what is the common thread of everything I’ve mentioned? Everything I’ve mentioned involves having the best athletes competing! People love our sport! My colleagues at work have been asking me questions about who and what and how regarding track all week! Why? Because they’ve enjoyed what’s been happening on the track and in the field. And that is how it is when people get exposed to track. It’s exciting. The performances are awesome. The common thread is getting the best athletes on the track and visible. Accessibility of the sport’s best athletes/performers is the key. Not structural changes. Having our best competing before audiences. It’s that simple. Yet for our sport, complex. Because we have a sport full of independent contractors, and not captive employees like the NBA or NFL! These independent contractors have few reasons to be in the same place, at the same time. The one compelling reason usually turns out to primarily be championships! Outside of champions the primary motivation is compensation. So, we don’t need to change how meets operate, we have to get more money to those that we want to compete in them! That’s why the key component in each of the recently proposed “leagues” is, MONEY! In a world where quarterbacks making $40 million a year are considered under paid; and elite athletes in other sports are getting contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We have to develop ways to get track and field athletes paid well and competing against each other. Not change the sport. Because nothing you do to the sport will matter, if the best athletes aren’t there competing! And the way to get them there, it’s to pay them. This is the problem that World Athletics needs to work on, in conjunction with the various national governing bodies – compensation! That’s the problem with the sport. Until that is addressed, you’re just needlessly shuffling chairs on the deck. And in many ways damaging the sport.
We Need a Better Championship Meet – The Olympics were fantastic. Yet there were many of the world’s top athletes watching from home. Knowing that if not for a fraction of an inch, or a fraction of a second, they would have been there taking their shot at greatness. The Olympics are a fantastic sporting event, but it’s not a true championship. I have an idea for a true World Championship for athletics. That’s going to be one of my next posts.
Tags: Lyles, McLaughlin, Tebogo, Thomas