Athing Mu

The Trials are brutal, the ultimate American exemplar of meritocracy. Keep it that way

The Trials are brutal, the ultimate American exemplar of meritocracy. Keep it that way

EUGENE, Oregon – Track and field is not football, the American kind. But it happens on the track that falls happen. That is, in racing, people fall down. Sometimes at critical moments. Sucks.

The thing is, just as in football, as the timeworn saying goes, it’s not that you fall – it’s how you get back up.

Football coaches will tell you, endlessly, it’s a matter of character.

Which brings us, amid the U.S. Trials for the 2024 Paris Games, to Athing Mu, who fell earlier this week in the women’s 800 meters, and is not going to get the chance to defend the gold medal she won in the event in Tokyo three years ago.

Res ipsa loquitur: from the Kersee files

Res ipsa loquitur: from the Kersee files

Speaking generally, track and field needs — almost everyone rooting for the sport to do better agrees on this — to matter more, especially among the key 18- to 34-year-old demographic. The May 25 Prefontaine Classic, the biggest one-day meet in the United States, drew 1.17 million viewers overall but only 73,000 in the 18-34 category. An early ESPN SportsCenter that same Saturday morning drew 77,000. 

The sport has a hard time making the case that it should matter more than a weekend a.m. SportsCenter or, for that matter, the May 25 Indiana-Vegas WNBA game — 73k on NBA TV, 18-34 demo — when track and field’s biggest stars do not race as often as they — pick your word here — should, could, might. 

Is that because of Injury? Yes. Is it because of a slew of other issues? Yes. Is it because of money, of which there is not enough in track and field? The question answers itself.