Brutal HONESTY on the Tara Davis-Woodhall SITUATION! | Unfortunately, Olympians HATE to Admit THIS?!

[@chillregular2101]

The issue is nobody can watch it. Do you know how hard it is to watch track .

[@destinimonae]

This.

[@victorias.odysseys]

Righttt especially for people outside USA (like me)

[@Topself24]

They have to add more fanfare and entertainment to it

[@EmporerZ]

Except if the athlete is entertaining aka bolt or Lyles

[@rayrayqbaby]

Do you mean it’s “hard“ because there are so many events or are you saying it’s boring? Can you clarify please.

[@scrumtious1]

Track events are my favourite. Anything 800 m and below I find most interesting. However, here in Europe field events are quite popular, especially on the Diamond League circuit. Several times I've seen a full stadium watching pole vault or discus or high jump as the last event whilst I'm leaving when the last sprinting event concludes. I think here it comes down to that many field athletes are actually promoted in their respective countries as well as rivalries between nations are promoted and celebrated.

[@RT-dk7yv]

Great conversation. Thank you both. Hope to see more collabs between the two of you in the future.

[@Showthevoice]

This is a great conversation. Breaking up the clubs was deliberate, they knew what we were doing was working. So the destroyed them in the early 2000's as the athletes and agents watched. Michael has a great point with what he is trying to do. He is focusing on his events, and why shouldn't he. Athletes in general make less now, than half of what was made in the 90's. He is bringing millions of dollars to the sport and is something that should be applauded. The field events need to make their own way if they want to stay relevant. FYI, I was paid more than double to jump as opposed to sprinting. We're not seeing the excellent performances we used to see so the interest has faded. Let's drop the emotions and and deal with facts.

[@WheeJones]

Who even are you?? Let's drop the name if you're claiming to be a former athlete.

[@kevinjenkins2108]

Please don’t waste time responding to to such a challenge. Who cares whether you competed or not. That information is irrelevant in my opinion. What is more important is that you and others support, defend, and take action on smart strategies and tactics to improve the lives and opportunities for young student-athletes and athletes today and in the future.

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

@@WheeJones Did you look at his page? That was who I consider the GOAT of T&F. Carl Lewis.

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

The 90's was the Golden era for men's LJ. Powell, Lewis and Greene all capable of medaling for team USA. Not sure if we will ever have the LJ be prime-time TV like it was in the 91 world championships or 96 Olympics again.

[@naassonjones8649]

Agreed 💯

[@lesteubes-r1t]

In Europe, field events are very popular with spectators and can get incredibly exciting, especially pole-vault, high jump and javelin. On a good day also triple-jump and long jump. It tends to be long distance track events that are often less inspiring, perhaps because of the use of pacemakers.

[@Lonzology]

Both are in the wrong here, Micheal Johnson can't save the sport but Tara also makes no sense, Track and FIeld isn't doing fine. We are STRUGGGLINGGGG. Personally, I think she is just butthurt that no field events are included.

[@christof123]

Who stays behind to watch field events? lol

[@akoginni]

We can all agree the sport as a whole needs improving. More legends like Johnson should try and help

[@coachbenitas]

I like the fact that Michael Johnson is keeping track available for everyone to watch. It’s so hard to find track meets to watch on tv outside the Olympics and a few championships. Athletes need to get paid period. Yes I agree need more infrastructure for athletes. We have to stay on the positive and not be so sensitive about shining the light on the sport. There’s room for everyone. It’s all about timing and investing in athletes.

[@Heyu7her3]

Track & Field has been struggling for a good 20+ years. Even when running for USATF in the 2000s, they tried using the prospect of track scholarships to influence us to run in clubs during those grueling Southern summers. This was supposed to be our alleged financing for a college education. *I KNEW that was a damn lie! I quit* because I figured out at 16 that this wasn't the 1980s-90s in terms of funding. Not only did I not want to be a student-athlete in college, but I also knew my academics would get me further than track. *And they did. **_I got better scholarships & went further with academics than all my peers who focused on track._* That being said... I actually loved running the relays 😅

[@faulypi]

T&F is working. The Olympics and World Championships are as strong as ever. The problem is that some people expect T&F to compete with other major sports. The challenge with T&F is that the athletes do not compete enough to generate the same engagement as athletes in other individual sports. Athletes in Golf, Tennis, Ski, and Skating compete much more frequently than T&F athletes. In those sports, the best of the best go head to head week in and week out during the season providing entertainment and exposure for the athletes and sponsors. Some athletes compete more frequently but not enough to build engaging rivalries, which is what draws fans to sports entertainment.

[@TheWayWithKhuwayne]

That might be true that those athletes compete more often in their sports than T&F athletes but this is where we need to discuss the amount of effort physically in those competitions as well as how much they earn. Footballers, American Football Players, Basketball Players and others in team events get paid a heck of a lot more because of their sponsors or the contracts they have and sometimes, some players don't play or do much within that match time. Also, many of these athletes travel together or have the right amount of financial support to travel comfortably to go to competitons and matches often. Whereas, many in the track and field world don't have it as easy. Meanwhile, T&F athletes are paid considerably less because of the design of how sport/shoe sponsorships and appearance fees work. Yet they put out more physically in some scenarios than other athletes do in their sports. Therefore, it makes it tougher for T&F athletes to compete as often or as much in fear of burn out or injuries leading up to or at the major championships like the Worlds or Olympics. In reality, the sponsors in track and field has to increase and be more lucrative to allow more athletes the financial capacity to get better health support and travel expenses to compete more often throughout the season.

[@faulypi]

@@TheWayWithKhuwayne I referred specifically to individual sports. Team sports are completely different. The rivalry aspect is what drives team competition at every level. The top individual athletes in sports like tennis, golf, and downhill skiing, compete more often than T&F athletes.

[@christof123]

90% of track “pros” work day jobs.

[@justinramey]

What about setting up track like they do Tennis with Legendary tournaments.

[@chocolateaudacity7643]

Serena's husband just held one too.

[@TheChinaPlay]

The NCAA does pretty well using a team format. Why not keep it the same as it is in HS and college and have world teams compete in meets throughout the season. Yes, some world teams couldn't fill entire team with all events but it would grow the sport I believe. People tune into the Olympics bc it seems legitimate for track bc athletes rep their nations. Imagine a world meet where Japan, Jamaica, USA, Sweden, Brazil, and Kenya (just example) have a meet in pick your city, while other nations have similar meets and you score it just the same as HS and NCAA do. I don't see why they don't do it this way. Is there any other sport that changes once it goes to a pro level? Maybe at one time the individual events where worth more than the sum of the parts, but probably for most of the history of the sport the sum was worth more than the pieces.

[@sandman1347]

Great topic and a really good discussion guys. I wish Tara all the best but I didn't like the disrespectful tone of her comments. She also clearly has no business perspective whatsoever when it comes to sport. I agree that it was a poor choice of words from Michael Johnson. Rather than saying that he can save track, he should have said that he can save PROFESSIONAL track. As you accurately point out, this is about money guys. At a time when elite athletes are becoming billionaires and where the top pro athletes make more money than movie stars or top recording artists, track athletes still need day jobs most of the time! What Michael Johnson wants is to make it so that the fastest people in the world can be paid like elite athletes. It doesn't have to be NBA max contract money. Honestly, MLS levels of pay would be more than enough. Right now track is only really popular for 2 weeks every 4 years and is ignored by 99% of people the rest of the time. A solid pro league that people can follow every year would not only make the sport more popular, it would create even more buzz for the Olympics than we currently have (because people would be MUCH more familiar with the athletes). A relevant pro league would generate more knowledgeable fans who are more invested in the sport. How popular would basketball be without the NBA? How popular would football be without the NFL? As someone on the outside looking in, it amazes me how much pushback Michael is getting from within the sport. The lack of business sense in track has become a MAJOR vulnerability. It's as if some of these people just want to watch the world pass track by. I support MJ 100%.

[@RebeccaTaylorTillery]

Well, then Michael Johnson shouldn't have dissed field like he did.

[@alansamuel2454]

@@RebeccaTaylorTillery He did admit that both track and field need saving. He did say he can only be the savior for track. Whether he delivers is another issue to be determined but like it was mentioned, he's a private entity and it makes sense to invest in what he knows best and has genuine experience in. It can give ideas, highlights problems etc for another person to study and do the same for field maybe some years down the line. But honestly, whether GST succeeds, fails or is underwhelming, the big benefit is that it forces Olympics and World Athletics to increase prize money and to appeal more to the athletes. That's the genuinely big advantage in my opinion.

[@RebeccaTaylorTillery]

​@alansamuel2454 I do understand what you are saying. However, track and field is one sport, not two. And while I get that field events go through multiple rounds, one person at a time as opposed to track running several runners at a time, they could at least show the finals and maybe the semifinals of field events, with the understanding that the qualifying rounds happened off camera. Besides, he is only inviting certain people. This is not like diamond league, where all athletes compete. I think that Mondo can certainly bring viewers.

[@grasworxTTGameplan]

This show needed a Caribbean perspective. The Caribbean is by far the percapita LEADER in "WORLD" track and field. We gotta talk Coach Rob

[@zola919]

Only a few Caribbean islands tbh. Namely Jamaica 😂😂😂

[@montbrink4700]

Track and field is more than the sprints....

[@Bornpoe]

God had was good from 2008 till 2020 yaw run is OVER! America is taking this boring sport serious again

[@BrazyPenguin]

We'll see. Jamaica is called the sprint factory for a reason. It has competited in the sprints since the 60s. The lion will wake up and when he does. We will see. But yes, you are correct; Track and Field is bigger than the sprints. However this is seemingly not found in the media/general audiences.

[@Kobebok248]

No Caribbean island has a well rounded track and field team. Jamaica is known for sprints and hurdles only. Head to head they can’t compete with the USA across the board. Men and women. USA has a very strong field team as well.

[@TheWayWithKhuwayne]

My issue with this whole track vs field is the consistent agenda to push track with all these new projects, competitions and events to promote the sport but do very little on the field events to compensate those athletes. World Relays to Mixed 4x1 introduction to Sprint to Grand Slam Track to Athlos to World Ultimate Championships. A lot of these things either are track exclusive or track dominant. For decades and decades, field events are left in shambles with less financial opportunities, less tv coverage at many events and less promotion of their events. I think it is time for World Athletics to market field events heavily, prioritise those athletes and provide those events the exposure it needs but also deserves. Restructure World Championship events to give field events more tv coverage. Introduce team events for the throwing & jumping events to allow new and unexpected combinations. Plus it would give more financial support to those athletes who compete in 1 field event and those who struggle to win the individual events. Athletics cannot grow as a whole if you exclude one area of the sport for so long and expect it will survive on the backs of track athletes who are competing for less than 10 seconds, 11 seconds, 20 seconds, 21 seconds or a minute etc.

[@KennasView]

Maybe Tara Davis-Woodhall should put more of her energy into marketing the field aspect of track and field.

[@da_illest]

As much as she gets on my nerves, she couldn’t do much more

[@nothingness55]

It starts in High school. Something changes from grade school into Highschool. In grammar school everyone is running, bc there isn't anything else. There are way too many options in HS. Lacrosse, soccer, Baseball, football, basketball etc... Track isn't looked at as "fun" but the other (what are perceived as ...) "team" sports Are where the kids all gravitate to; especially soccer. Plus there isn't a lot of money in Track.

[@deviljames]

Healthy debates like this are essential for the growth of any sport. Tara Davis-Woodhall and Michael Johnson bring unique perspectives as Olympians, and their contrasting views highlight the need for innovative ideas while respecting tradition. Er? i mean?? Whether it's embracing changes like Grand Slam Track or preserving the sport's current format, discussions like these drive progress i meant 2 say. Let’s keep the dialogue going...track and field deserves to thrive... Thank you coach Rob.... High-Five

[@akoginni]

100% agree. Debates like these are a positive thing for the sport. In my opinion a league for field could be tried. What do you think?

[@rawhidewolf]

Tara Davis-Woodhall is the model of how you get the general public interested in Track AND field. Personally, I followed team sports not because they played in a paticular city. I connected with the players. Today, with free agency I lost interest. I follow track because of the individual athletes. When Athing Mu fell in the trials, it was like watching my own daughter and it hurt. That's the key. I actually read about Thea LaFond before the olympics but, when she won, it didn't move the needle for me. I've been hearing about Jasmine Moore since she was in high school. I cared! BTW This year, in NCAA D3 indoor, an athlete long-jumped over 8m for the first time. When are you going to do a piece about that?

[@davidv5963]

I think the issue is she said that track and field does not need saving despite the fact viewership is actually trending lower and college programs are being cut

[@cr4zyftw]

15 mins in and as a casual track & field fan during the olympics, i think he hit a lot of good points that i can agree with that aren't bashingt he sport and being realistic with his "criticisms". unless you are a die hard track person, i think the majority only care about the olympics, but any new thing such as what michael johnson is doing is going to at least create interest or new eyes for people that don't usually follow track, so it can only be good.

[@Heyu7her3]

There's nothing for professional track & field in terms of a "season," outside of the 2-yr Worlds and 4-yr Olympics. That is a LONG time .

[@YvonneWilliams-gc3pv]

I don’t think Michael Johnson meant any harm but could have been phrased differently. But back in the day I was a sprinter and I also participated in the long jump. Track and field is one of the most grueling and demanding sports. But I must be honest, as a sprinter, you’re treated like a superstar and it is those events of the 100, 200, 400 and the relays and hurdles that get most of the attention.

[@derontariuswiscenlitago5379]

imo you’ve either gotta go toward the boxing/ufc route where there’s individuals and you build up hype around match-ups that are put onto under/main card format, or you do the team route, nothing inbetween. If you go the 1v1 with cards route, you could even have undercards be different events, track AND field. Field events are pivotal for making it an event that isn’t full of a buncha meaningless yapping like what was going on with Athlos cause races be like 1 minute in duration max and you have a crazy amount of time to fill if you want the event to be over an hour.

[@billbandoh5818]

A track league with club vs club action would be dope. A draft every year of the fastest athletes in the nation and world! Best HS, College, unattached pros! Promoting coaching hires who are responsible for the clubs performance. That is marketable !

[@melanieeze6125]

Totally agree track teams/clubs competing in the way forward like the Youth Development League. Kids love it, they get behind teams rather than individuals.

[@xcbaby123]

I get where she is coming from. That is her livelyhood. Ironically I think Jumps maybe in a different format would be ideal to showcase at a Grand Slam type of event.

[@L0ngstrip]

Anderson Track and Field needs saving from a fan perspective and also athletes that are honest. That's why they complain about the money other athletes make.

[@feetindagrass]

I thirst for the track events, and I tolerate most of the field events. Honestly, in my house, we typically mute the field events and discuss the track drama. Athlos NYC was track only, and I didn't complain.

[@ROCKBETHENAME]

Good convo but wanted to point out. ESPN is showing the indoor championship because they have a rights deal with the SEC it’s why you see them push so hard for the SEC teams for the college football playoffs every year the bigger the exposure of the SEC the more money ESPN makes

[@1retdGI]

The NCAA didn't do T&F a favor in the coverage of their National Championships. For the most part they weren't even televised. I had to watch the events here on KZbin on some guy from India's channel. I think that's the foundation for us "casual" fans to become introduced to these athletes (T&F) prior to them become pros. We all love our favorite athletes and all of these developmental stepping stones (HS, NCAA) helps them & the sport grow.

[@mefadon459]

I think the best way to save track and field is to do it like formula 1. Make it like an urban event like a marathon street run thing. If you mix it with marathon max 5k or 10k events. That would help it tbh. And have KZbinr broadcast on live the events. You have scenic places to hold the events because marathons do it all the time.

[@0161scally]

I would like to have seen certain field events included in the Grand Slam such as long jump, triple jump, discus, shot put and pole vault. But shorten long/triple jump and shot/discus put to 4 rounds only.(3 attempts and top 3 or 4 get one more attempt.) plus do something with the poke vault to shorten the event.(start the opening height higher?)

[@mdrewery]

Here is an idea. It was sparked by the Ready, Set, Go podcast. They asked what shoe company has the best athletes. What if the shoe companies built their own teams. Four meets structured like the NCAA championship throughout the year, 2 indoor, 2 outdoor. Shoe companies will have to field all track and field events. Each team can have up to 3 athletes in each event. The meets are scored. Shoe companies can have a draft. They sign the athletes to contracts. Some shoe companies are sprint heavy, some are distsnce heavy but in order to win, you will need a well rounded team. This is a short version, but what do you all think?

[@Heyu7her3]

Isn't that essentially what the sponsorships are _(the logos on their uniforms),_ just on a grander scale? Personally, idk if I'd want multinational corporations funding actual teams

[@RochelleDavis-r4c]

Hopefully they will end up adding the para track athletes after this initial year

[@Yo-Dadi]

Track can be structured very much like pro golf and pro tennis is operating. They have a players Union and all the athletes are individual players, like T&F. It’s not that complicated. They just don’t want to pay these athletes, cost to watch meets will go up and tickets.

[@AllInTheGame01]

If the sport's not careful & keeps heading down this road, I fear it'll completely splinter & segregate itself in a blink of an eye into 'World Sprint Champs', 'World Distance Champs' & 'World Field Champs' for example :( Re Instagram alone (so doesn't include all social media), 20 of some of the most followed Field Athletes on it are; Neeraj Chopra 9.7m Mondo Duplantis 1.4m Gianmarco Tamberi 1.1m Tara Davis-Woodhall 1.1m Yulimar Rojas 1m Arshad Nadeem 868K Alysha Newman 765K Ivana Spanovic 618K Fatima Diame 607K Leo Neugebauer 565K Anna Hall 557K Ana Peleteiro-Compaore 533K Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk 509K Yaroslava Mahuchikh 441K Emmanuel Karalis 440K Khaddi Sagnia 408K Kevin Mayer 387K Molly Caudery 381K Nafi Thiam 326K KJT 300K Of the 20 Most Popular videos on the Official Olympics Channel, 3 are Field Event videos same as Usain Bolt videos. Of the 20 Most Popular videos on the Official WA Channel, 5 are Field Event videos to 6 Bolt videos. Of the 20 Most Popular videos on the Official DL Channel, 7 are Field Event videos. Of the 20 Most Popular videos on the Total 'Running' Productions Channel, 9 are Field Event videos! Data shows ppl love HJ, LJ & JAV in particular followed by PV, HAM & SP - just a few data points that ppl like MJ should be taking into consideration! This is useful info if you were to use it for example to choose 4 Field Events to include in GST & Athlos and limit it to just the best/followed 4 ppl in each event battling each other with a 30s time limit between each Athlete's attempt so that it moves a lot quicker (compared to the usual 8-12 ppl in a Champs Field Final). Each of the 4 GST Meets are 3-day Meets (3hr broadcast window per day), so there's going to be a LOT of downtime that will end up being filled with pundits doing a LOT of talking with a LOT of video packages played on a loop (like the Athlos Meet) that could instead be filled by fast moving HJ, LJ, JAV & SP competitions for example. This yr's Euro Champs had that special raised runway/platform built right next to the crowd for both LJ/TJ which helped produce really good competition & distances in both M&W's LJ & TJ - GST could easily implement something like that & have just the best/followed 4 ppl in each event battling each other in a fast moving competition. With a few simple tweaks & adjustments, it's really not that hard to include some Field Events in GST, Athlos & '26 WA Ultimate Champs if they really wanted to!

[@mrroye]

I will tell you what I enjoyed most about the Olympics in terms of my family watching with me for track and field. Was one the relays especially the mixed relays. Everybody had a team that ran against somebody else typically from other countries. While there were a couple of races where there were two teams from the same country if I'm not mistaken. I found those fascinating. And then to have those same runners then break off and run individually for their specified sport distance would be perfect as far as the field events go I don't know if you could find a way to package the individual field events with the heptathlon or make it the self tap the line you can choose any number you want to make one of those. But something where they'd be more invested where some people only uh say do hurdles and some people only do pole vaulting when the pole vaulting champion ran against the European track and field got to see who was the fastest. I was amazed at that race it was kind of like when that professional lady golfer went up against Tiger Woods. We had to watch.

[@earthgirl7267]

Create a national meet like Penn Relays, and hold this meet once a year, or bi-annual. Track and field clubs defiately. Keep the collegiate invitational featuring pro athletes. USATF needs to market their pro's, and invest in highlighting training, Documentaries or a day in the life. Bring track and field to remote locations to introduce the sport. There's so much that can be done.

[@mainjer88]

Track needs a course correction. Look at the Mr Beast Noah Lyes Collab. Get young social media influencers involved, get some of these TikTok/KZbinrs to get some 👀s and advertisers to pay athletes. Look at the free press of Noah's comments on the NBA. Do cross sport collabs with the super stars in NFL and NBA. Cricket did T20 cricket because test cricket is great for hardcore cricket fans but boring for the general public. The Grandslam is at least an attempt to course correct.

[@benjaminreames8725]

field events seem easier to save? They are exciting to watch and lend themselves to small pop up events with stars that don't even need traditional facilities

[@g3jewelry25]

Track and Field needs to move to a team/club model, just like every other sport, but let the brands get involved and create the teams/clubs (i.e. Team Nike vs Team Adidas vs Team New Balance vs Team Hoka vs ETC).

[@cosmicwisdom999]

I heard that the diamond league has given up a raise of pay to the athletes

[@delmsav]

The sport is too individualistic. The sport needs a (1) Club structure (2) a League (3) weekly competition with a points system leading to a championship trophy. Average athletes will be able to compete and contribute to the effort

[@TylerYen-io8nn]

Def there needs to be changes why is it 3 rounds per running events and 6 for field I have often said high jump is the only event you knock down the bar 4/6times and ending up winning the event it’s an event that takes forever to finish so yeah to start saving Field events 3 tries per event instead of having 6 rounds would be a great start

[@dpwr96]

I’ve only watched the first 2 minutes so far but I want to get a point across. We know we have the fastest people on the planet. Not football, soccer , rugby or anything else. Guess what we also have the best jumpers. Imagine filling broadcast time with segments on the insane level of bounce the triple and LJs have. You wanna talk strength and power? NFL bring anybody you want we got Joe Kovacs!!!

[@Yo-Dadi]

Also, t&f should have different levels. Like a A league and B league, C league, bc that way certiain athletes will have to compete, no more ducking out. A strict schedule.

[@joyce2680]

Tara is right, also beautiful and talented. The Grand Slam needs to include the top athletes in T&F. I for one would love to see Crouser, Mondo, etc. But he absolutely positively needs relays! If he wants to go big then get Kipyegon for those who love record breakers. Athletes in her races strive for Personal and National bests. Kipyegon is it!! Then there's Jakob and Kerr for drama to fight for who's going to pick up their face first after their embarrassing Olympic showing. 🤭 Anyway it goes ... advertising is key. Give me the what, when and where of the best.

[@johnbarr6204]

Track and field is dying because the hot bag for track and field college is gonna be cutting a lot of the programs.

[@brianbethune616]

Kishane was 10k before olympics, ofter his first race in doubled that

[@beautifullydone.7704]

Hpe GRAND SLAM TRACK makes a. Huge impact and builds track and in the future field,kudos to.Michael Johnson,track and field needed saving, unless being hypocritical can do a better job.

[@God1stForever]

Tara is more popular than a lot of the track athletes, long jump is a great watch

[@joe2times381]

🧐

[@TheSomethingnew1]

And who else? What are the other household names for long jump?

[@marzmarch]

Without a professional league, T&F won’t progress. Unless the T&F world gets wise and markets itself to the parents of athletes. Every sport in the US would be improved by athletes being involved in T&F. Every athlete would be improved by being involved in T&F. T&F is exciting. The world knows this. They only get to see it in the Olympics, though.

[@Peezy71421]

NOTHING THAT LASTS FOR 11 SECONDS OR LESS (100 Meter Men and Women) OR 21 SECONDS OR LESS (200 meter Men and Women) WILL EVER BE MAINSTREAM!!! GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEADS TRACK AND FIELD!

[@hagosmesgoun7195]

Perhaps have the La clubs be part of the race lol at lease they’ve a comm support -

[@tomerkritz]

gout gout

[@Trey4Liberty]

Everything that Track is facing, ...yes dying a fast death... ...so is the sport of wrestling is facing a fast death. YES THE DEATH is coming because there is NO PROFIT. Its always been on life support. My thought is that we, both Track & Wrestling, must all come together in a new way. I have some ideas on how that would work.

[@ultrarnr4454]

Sad thing is I think you’re right it always boils down to money.

[@TylerYen-io8nn]

What exactly is the root cause of the decline in the sport ,soccer for example continues to hold its own globally likewise a number of sports

[@Heyu7her3]

They mentioned the teams/ club aspect which professional track doesn't really have

[@byronprice225]

Team Concept works in track and field

[@brianbethune616]

He at 100k now

[@Angi1v]

What Michael is doing won't save track either. Get rid of the diamond league and have each diamond league venue become a club and have a premier league where athletes can be sold and so on just like football.

[@akoginni]

Ok but question is if not many are watching then who will buy based off your suggestion? Which is a good suggestion. I just wanna know your thoughts..

[@newyorknewart]

Track is a momentary effort. Team sports last a long time! innings in Baseball. Quarters in Basketball. You get to see varied efforts, strategy of one athletes against another, with many minutes of trial and changing outlooks. in sprinting, you get 10 times more dramatic presentations than actual effort. And a team is a combination of talents in a battle and in a season not just a explosive moment. Track is an occasional effort not an ongoing fight to be the best. A fan cannot build a comprehensive loyalty with many athletes if they only do almost a carbon copy every time. Just a clock speed difference. A sport that is so contained and individual will never be a continuing attention getter. And fans do not think sprinting is a real sport, just a temporary personal effort. I love women runners, but they are not the same kind of athletes as even he WNBA. They get all my attention once in awhile but not for a whole season. Even Elaine Thompson Hera does not be vibrant in 50 meets in a season. Grand Slam will be o interest, but it will never be a important as the Olympics. They don't and can't attempt to run World records 50 times a year no mater how much money earned. And why do athletes feels what they do should make them rich???

[@divinee.155]

🎉track is dying in America but the sport is just fine the rest of us with our own countries who are track nations can keep it within ourselves

[@AnthonyWilliams_83]

That’s not completely true. Great Britain has issues too.

[@heyjoejp]

Track AND field shouldn’t try to compete with the big 3 in the USA. Foolish attempt. Make better of what is had. Retooling the time. Meets take too long in USA. Make them no longer than 3 hours maximum. Umpires & judges take way too long to move things along. Track Clubs are a cool idea to revisit. Lastly limit/rotate field events. Not omit them.

[@stevie586]

Her comments we’re ignorant and extremely disrespectful. MJ is an icon who has achieved far more than she in his career, so for she to speak so condescendingly towards him is laughable. Secondly, the sport DOES need saving; this topic has been discussed so much by so many people. Third, he never attacked field…he only mentioned how he personally can help, he never dissed anyone. Simply put, there are a handful of athletes in this sport who are doing well financially, while this sport is really leaving tons struggling. If he can help folks make some money, why argue with the guy?

[@og3081]

HOSTILE DISRESPECTFUL “🛏️ 🔧 !”

[@spider-man1918]

Good luck to her...

[@OLCtv]

I'm happy there's no field 🤷🏿‍♂️i don't care. Field needs it's own league yo, I'm sorry. Add them later, field on its own days but let track not be shared with field.

[@djxcel23]

Ah boy

[@KwameFadhiliWilliams]

She look like LeBron James mother in the thumbnail

[@dharr6628]

Tara Davis-Woodhall and her husband needs to get a clue. Neither one of them is bringing fans to the sport. First of all no one watches or hear about para athletes outside of the Olympics. Long jump is not that exiting, Tara has fans because of her looks. No one watched long jump for Brittney Reese.

[@annmariebusu9924]

They have fans because of their couple story but it doesn't translate into watching them perform for me. I noticed the Spanish athlete Fatima ( long and triple jumper) has a lot of fans so there is opportunity for interest. Its not boring just not popular now. Track stars used to do both but I can't think of any top athletes doing that. If Sydney started long jump people would watch.

[@dharr6628]

@@annmariebusu9924 You have a good synapsis. On another note it takes a lot to put on a meet, and most of the athletes has ZERO personality. A person like Noah Liles is hated on by his fellow athletes because he is trying to bring interest to the sport in and out of season. Tara needs to STHU get on board and stop thinking just about her sponsorship, and think of enhancing the sport.

[@martinrossiter8714]

Your perspective is painfully USA centric. Using Instagram as a metric, 6 out of the top 10 most followed athletes are not from the USA. Neeraj Chopra has nearly 8 times as many followers as Sydney yet he’s not in your analysis of the biggest stars. This whole video is American exceptionalism on steroids. It’s a global sport, look outside your bubble.

[@Heyu7her3]

They gave examples of other countries, but *that's still not the point.* The point is *track & field doesn't have the infrastructure or financials to make it sustainable, especially on-par with other pro sports.* Even including countries like China where a lot rides on athletes to medal... they still only have those two big competitions like all the other countries. Another example is you mentioned IG. IG has absolutely NOTHING to do with athleticism. Social media biases towards amateur/ non-professionals anyway, not qualifications & merit.