Latest on World Athletics’ controversial rule change proposals, plus the parkrun stats squabble, ultra runners in the Dragons’ Den and why Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s rivalry with Josh Kerr is tame compared to the 1980s
One of the most interesting events at the World Indoor Championships did not take place in the Emirates Arena but a couple of miles away instead at a Coaches’ Club get-together on St Vincent Street in Glasgow city centre. Superbly organised by former British athletics coaching supremo Frank Dick and supported by World Athletics, the final afternoon included a presentation on the controversial long jump proposals.
Jakob Larsen and Florian Weber took to the stage to explain the background to the ideas followed by an interview with Jon Ridgeon, the World Athletics chief executive who inadvertently broke the news about plans for a “boardless long jump” during a podcast earlier this year.
Listening to World Athletics’ side of the story in more detail, it was impossible not to have sympathy for them. The idea has been lambasted but is in a very early testing phase and has to clear several hurdles before it will be introduced at major international events in 2026 at the earliest.
It’s one of four long jump innovations that World Athletics is looking at. Also, there is no guarantee it will even be introduced. In other words, it’s not the fait accompli that many assume it is.
Ridgeon said World Athletics had a duty to look at potential changes because data tells them that certain events are struggling to maintain their appeal in an increasingly competitive sporting world. Current long jump rules, he added, were invented well over a century ago when there was no television or social media, not to mention the kind of hi-tech equipment that has the ability to revolutionise the sport if we make smart use of it.
Of course the ideas aren’t particularly new. According to myth and legend, Jesse Owens jumped further than nine metres in the 1930s when the need to hit a take-off board was removed. In addition, there is a chapter devoted to “the boardless long and triple jump” in the brilliant 1993 book The Future of Track & Field by masters athlete and Stanford professor Alphonse Juilland.
Following current world No.1 Miltos Tentoglou’s widely publicised criticism of the ideas, though, in addition to four-time Olympic long jump champion Carl Lewis’s fierce comments on social media, there were some voices of discontent at the Coaches’ Club event itself. Coaching giants Yannick Tregaro and Charles van Commenee asked some challenging questions, although Dick defended World Athletics’ efforts by encouraging his fellow coaches to have an open mind and not to kill an idea “when it’s a baby”.
Miltos Tentoglou (Getty)
Tregaro and Van Commenee were not the only coaches in the room, but it was a relatively sparsely attended event. To be fair, additional viewers were able to tune into the conference via Zoom and the final session of the World Indoor Championships was set to begin around an hour after the long jump presentation. Still, it’s a shame Larsen, Weber and Ridgeon had such a small audience.
Herein lies a problem. On one hand World Athletics claims it is keen to undergo a rigorous ‘consultation’ process with transparent communication of their ideas to change the sport. Yet on the flipside, Ridgeon admits his podcast comments on the new rules slipped out and that the wider athletics community accidentally heard about the ideas “too soon”.
What’s more, Larsen, Weber and Ridgeon clearly put a lot of time and effort into preaching to a limited number of people at this Coaches’ Club event. So it’s a shame the event was not more widely available on YouTube, for example.
As a curious spectator and long-time AW writer attending the event, I was also discouraged from reporting on any of the information shown on the presentation slides and my request for a copy of the video recording of the session was politely rejected.
“The session was to inform/exchange with coaches onsite only,” I was told, “with the recording for internal use”. All of which is a pity as I would have enjoyed writing a more detailed article on these interesting and much-talked about proposals.
Parkrun bosses stand firm
Indoor athletics aside, the most popular articles on the AW website this month relate to parkrun and its decision to get rid of course and age category records.
Our story on a parkrun petition has gathered more clicks lately than anything we’ve written about Josh Kerr, Molly Caudery, Femke Bol or even the controversial long jump proposals. This is partly because the story is not over, with thousands of parkrunners continuing to heap pressure on parkrun organisers and decision-makers.
Parkrun chief executive Russ Jefferys isn’t budging either. In a letter to the parkrunners campaigning to bring back the stats, he said: “We have seen the petition and we are listening to the feedback we receive. It is a sign of a passionate and vibrant global community that parkrunners find interest and inspiration in all sorts of information connected with participation (both our own and that of others). Indeed there is likely no end to the data and information that might be of interest, but that doesn’t mean it is right for parkrun to publish it.
“We are in no doubt that the removal of some records is a proportionate and appropriate step for the charity and in line with our mission to transform health and happiness by empowering people to come together to be active, social and outdoors.”
Their 23,000-strong petition aside, a number of parkrunners have created t-shirts which say “bring back the stats” and one runner with a “Run 5K” registration plate has also put a “bring back our stats” message on his vehicle.
Maybe athletes should swap spikes for studs
It seems social media lights up every few months with some kind of ‘footballer vs athlete’ sprint comparison. This month it was Kylian Mbappe’s turn to be compared to Usain Bolt with the French striker estimated to run 100m in 10.9.
Almost half a century ago Malcolm MacDonald, the former England striker, ran 10.9 in a Superstars sprint clash with David Hemery, the 1968 Olympic 400m hurdles champion, on a cinder track in Rotterdam. Ever since, there has been a general fascination in just how quick footballers are compared to pro sprinters.
Why not flip the script, though? What I’d really like to see is a team of athletes taking on the footballers at their own game. It might not be as one-sided as you think either.
A few years ago on the eve of the FIFA World Cup, AW published an ‘dream team’ of athletes such as Hicham El Guerrouj, who was a keen goalkeeper before he went on to become world record-holder for 1500m and the mile, Darren Campbell, European 100m and Olympic 4x100m gold medallist who played football for several teams including Plymouth Argyle, plus Adam Gemili, who was in Chelsea’s youth academy before turning to athletics.
Our choice of manager hasn’t aged well, though, as we picked Lamine Diack, who managed Senegal in the 1960s before he was given a red card for his notorious spell as corrupt president of athletics’ global governing body.
Ultra-runners snare a dragon
Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Steven Bartlett moved quickly to strike a £100,000 deal with two businessmen from an ultra-running events company called One Hundred. In fact fellow dragons on the BBC show didn’t have even the chance to put in a counter bid.
Yet perhaps Bartlett should have slowed down in order to ask the entrepreneurs more questions first.
For starters they told the dragons they wanted to create a “trail running world championships” and they suggested their idea for a trail ultra-running global series for events over 100km or 100 miles was original and “pioneering”.
Yet have they not heard of the UTMB World Series, for example, or the World Mountain and Trail Champs held in Austria last summer and Chiang Mai the year before?
Joao Andrade, one of the two businessmen from the One Hundred series, told AW: “Our event stands distinct as the first endurance trail world championship, emphasising endurance trail with distances of 100km, 100mile, and 200-mile. Our championship is unique due to its adherence to specific rules and course guidelines, the inclusion of specific endurance trail rankings based on performance and a structure comprising qualifying stages that lead up to an annual final. This format and the distances we offer differentiate our championship from existing competitions.”
Similiarly, with regards the UTMB series, Andrade says his One Hundred events feature a number of differences. “UTMB does not include a 200-mile race,” for example, he says, “or a final event based on qualifying races based on performance.”
He adds: “Separately our championship also aims to professionalize the sport by offering a significant prize purse of $100,000, highlighting our commitment to supporting professional athletes. Although UTMB recently launched their World Series, our championship had already been launched the year before.
“Despite these differences, our focus remains on being a World Championship for Endurance Trail Running, distinct from the formats and distances offered by UTMB or any other series.”
If the One Hundred series is struggling to get its message out, however, then teaming up with Bartlett should help. Apart from being a ‘dragon’, the 31-year-old runs The Diary of a CEO podcast and is an expert in marketing.
From Valbymania to FitzGerald Fever
As ‘Valbymania’ continues to sweep across the American collegiate scene courtesy of Parker Valby’s record-breaking exploits, another young female distance-running mega-talent, Innes FitzGerald, enjoyed another big win at the UK Inter-Counties Championships on Saturday.
Under-20 winners of these de facto British cross-country titles in Nottingham on Saturday earned automatic selection to the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade on March 30. Only problem is that FitzGerald says she’s unlikely to take up her spot due to her reluctance to fly and desire to focus on upcoming A-level exams.
Don’t be surprised to see her at the World Under-20 Championships in Peru in August, though. It sounds like sacrilege for an eco-friendly athlete who hates the idea of flying. But, post A-levels, I think she will find it irresistible and, crucially, she turns 18 in April so will be able to make her own mind up.
FitzGerald is an environmentally-friendly runner for sure, but there is also a feeling that, up to now, she’s come under significant parental pressure not to fly.
Innes FitzGerald (Gary Mitchell)
Ingebrigtsen vs Kerr is tame compared to the 1980s
The trash talk between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr is undeniably entertaining, but today’s fans enjoy only a fraction of the hype and intrigue that Seb Coe and Steve Ovett generated in the 1980s. As recent weeks have shown, the run-up to this year’s 1500m at the Paris Games will be exciting, but it will surely struggle to match the hype of the ‘Covett’ countdown to the Moscow Olympics.
Similarly, for those waiting on tenterhooks for the much-hyped Netflix series about sprinters, television in the 1980s had numerous lengthy documentaries about the sport’s leading stars, many of which can be found on YouTube.
Were athletics fans from yesteryear spoiled? Or are rose-tinted spectacles to blame?
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