Stars Skipping Worlds

We already knew that Sydney McLaughlin wouldn't be defending her World Championship in the 400 meter hurdles next week.  She had a bye into Worlds as the defending champion, so she ran the open 400 at U.S. Nationals.  It was always incredibly unlikely that she would double at Worlds, so once she made the team in the 400 (by winning), that pretty much guaranteed she wouldn't be running the hurdles.

As it turns out, she won't be running either.  McLaughlin has what she's calling a "minor" knee injury and withdrew from the 400, as well.  Should a "minor" injury be enough to keep her out of Worlds entirely?  Probably not.  But McLaughlin and her coach, Bobby Kersee, are clearly prioritizing next year's Olympics in Paris.

Athing Mu is also coached by Bobby Kersee.  Athing Mu also had a bye into Worlds as defending champion in the 800.  So, like McLaughlin, she raced a different event at U.S. Nationals (the 1500), and ended up making the team in that event, too.  Mu did the opposite of McLaughlin and scratched the 1500 to focus on her primary event, the 800.  Then the report came out that Mu, who isn't injured, might skip Worlds to focus on next year.  Fortunately, it doesn't look like that will happen.

Michael Norman is another American who won a World title in Oregon last year.  He's been wanting to move down from the 400 to the 100, so, since he had the bye in the 400, he only ran the 100 at U.S. Nationals.  Norman was eliminated in the first round of the 100, then, when asked about racing the 400 at Worlds, said "We'll have to wait and see."  However, citing "setback after setback" and frustration with his season, he decided to end his season early and not use his bye for Worlds.

Nafi Thiam, meanwhile, was a huge favorite to defend her title in the heptathlon.  She, too, has withdrawn from Worlds.  Thiam has an Achilles injury.  She didn't indicate how serious the injury is.  Just that she didn't want to aggravate it.  So, she's sacrificing a major championship in order to be fully ready for the Olympics.

That's four defending World Champions, three of whom are American, two of whom have the same coach, who either are or were contemplating skipping this year's World Championships.  Michael Johnson, who's been broadcasting track & field for the BBC pretty much since he retired competitively, was very critical of them for that decision.  He thinks that athletes who aren't injured should be prioritizing the World Championships, which are obviously the marquee event of the year in the sport.

Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with him.  However, we're in the midst of a very unique cycle.  Because of the Tokyo Olympic postponement, there's an Olympics or World Championships five years in a row from 2021-25.  That's great for the sport.  Athletes are used to having one "off" year without a championship in the normal four-year cycle, though.  In that "off" year, they'd get a chance to take things a little lighter or maybe try a different event.  With no "off" year, though, they can't do that.  Which completely changes their training cycle.

Last year would've been that "off" year had the Tokyo Olympics taken place in 2020 as scheduled.  However, since those Olympics were delayed, the 2021 Worlds were moved to 2022.  And those Worlds didn't just take place on U.S. soil.  They took place on the very familiar track at Hayward Field.  Combine that with the fact they were the first World Championships in three years and there's no chance any healthy American who made the team wasn't competing in Oregon.

Five major championships in five consecutive years is a lot to ask, though.  And the cycle goes back to normal in 2026 (yes, there's still a European Championships and Commonwealth Games, but I'm only talking about Americans for a second here).  So, they'll already get that off year after the 2025 Worlds.  Which means the only year they realistically can skip a global meet in this abbreviated five-year cycle is this year.

I'm not saying I think they should've decided to skip this year's Worlds.  What I am saying is that this is the only year where it made sense to do it.  They had a bye, so they didn't take somebody else's spot.  Likewise, that spot is theirs, so it couldn't be given to another American instead.  And there are no byes for the Olympics.  They've got to qualify at Olympic Trials like everybody else.

And, yes, the Olympics are the priority.  They always have been.  That's never been a secret.  The Olympics are only once every four years.  The World Championships are (ordinarily) every other year.  While I'm sure nobody ever wants to sit out a major championship for any reason, Worlds are likely easier to miss.  Especially if you think sacrificing a trip to Worlds might improve your chances of at the Olympics.

While not nearly as publicized, Courtney Frerichs made a similar decision at U.S. Nationals.  She fell in the first round of the women's steeplechase, aggravating a nagging injury, and withdrew from the final.  Frerichs gave up her chance to go to Worlds in 2023 so that she'd be 100 percent next year.  Going to Worlds banged up would potentially impact her performance both this year AND next year!  What Sydney McLaughlin and Michael Norman are doing really isn't much different.

This is also a situation that will be unique to 2023.  This is the only time an edition of Worlds will be both the year after the previous Worlds and the year before the next Olympics.  Other than an injury that actually prevents them from competing, there's no reason to skip the next Worlds in 2025.  So, while it's obviously not a good thing that they've decided not to go to Worlds this year, it's a stretch to suggest it's the start of a trend.  It's really nothing more than a result of the circumstances.

Would I prefer to see Sydney McLaughlin at the World Championships?  Of course!  She's one of the biggest names in the sport, and the sport could definitely use all the stars and exposure it can get.  But I get why she's not going.  I don't like her choice, but I get it.