As the Paris Olympics fade from view and Tokyo starts to loom on the horizon, Cathal Dennehy looks at what’s ahead in the next 12 months
1 A healthy year for Yulimar Rojas
One of athletics’ brightest lights never got to shine last year, the Venezuelan triple jump queen injuring her Achilles tendon and undergoing surgery which ruled her out of the Olympics. But after several months of rehab, the 29-year-old is eyeing her return and will have one goal in mind: winning a fifth straight world outdoor title in Tokyo. Let’s hope she stays healthy on the road there. The sport is better with her around.
2 Let a panel decide World Athletics’ Athlete of the Year
Look, we respect the democratic approach of a public vote. But the issue? It turns it into a popularity contest, not one based on merit. Letsile Tebogo had a phenomenal year but few objective athletics fans could think it was better than that of Mondo Duplantis. Same goes for Sifan Hassan, who simply didn’t have as good a year as Beatrice Chebet. So let’s go back to a panel vote next year. It’s more likely to produce the right result.
3 Someone to “save” field events
As the professional circuit segments, there’s a sense that field events are being left behind, with Grand Slam Track and Athlos NYC both freezing them out of their inaugural editions. Many field disciplines have also been omitted from next year’s World Athletics Ultimate Championship. Field eventers already have smaller contracts and get less exposure and to avoid a true two-tier sport, they need creative ways to showcase their attraction outside of major championships. Which brings us to the next wish…
Miltos Tentoglou (Getty)
4 Field eventers to embrace innovation
As things stand, things are not looking rosy. But when changes are trialled to field events, the reaction from athletes is typically outrage, often because they weren’t consulted. In redesigning formats to engage modern audiences, it’s essential World Athletics bring the star names – and some of the most vocal critics of changes such as Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou – into the tent. Arrange a separate conference call for each discipline, invite every Olympic finalist, brainstorm ideas, and make sure athletes have a say in shaping change. Then they’d be far more likely to embrace it.
5 Crouser to find a winning recipe
One of the events omitted from the World Athletics Ultimate Championship is the shot put, a…
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