“…Serious Trouble”: Olympic Legend Warns Track and Field About a Massive Storm Before Paris 2024

The Olympic events in the lush, scenic beauty of Stade De France are still 7 months to go. This time, the hosting committee is expecting 10.000 sporting bodies to fill in the berths and provide a mouthful of competition. However, the sporting individuals will have to overcome the trials to get the auspicious ticket to the final tussle. The next 6 months’ schedule will pass in information on such championships that would come as the doorway to the Olympic games. But from the POV of an Olympic legend, the coming days wouldn’t be smooth for the stakeholders. 

The coming days he meant for signified post-Paris Olympic games terms. In his support, the legend extracted a fearsome trend in recent happenings. 

Michael Johnson asks tough questions about the Olympic model 

On January 6, former track and field Olympian, Michael Johnson posted a defiant trend that showcased the recent news of the 2026 European Athletics Championships. The championship slated for 2026 now faces an opaque future due to financial constraints. But as per the 4x Olympic gold medalist, it is just an addition to a trend. In the X-post, he wrote, “The Olympic sport global championships model is in serious trouble!”. For a reason, The Man With Golden Shoes added that previously the 2026 Commonwealth Games and 2027 Pan American Games schedule already faced an impasse. 

All three occasions stoked interest, in holding the selection capability of the 2028 LA Olympics and being a part of the global model. But this time, the Birmingham City Council moved out, showing a lack of financial support. Whereas the Commonwealth bid on the Gold Coast witnessed the exit of hosts at the last minute, questioning the games council on the building idea. The 2027 Pan Am games bidding witnessed financial problems as well. The drift elevated a certain challenge that often remained unanswered. 

The unavoidable trend shows up on the highest stage

Michael Johnson glanced to a not-so-distant future, whereas the hosting quagmire has been reeling the situation for quite a time. The 2024 Paris Olympic Games itself came in the grab of this. For the ultimate bidding, there were only two sides – Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, both venues won the hosting spree on consecutive occasions. In the last bidding, almost five venues withdrew their nomination. The reason was a lack of support from the local population. 

Read more: 12x Olympic And World Championship Gold Medalist Michael Johnson Passes Judgement On The “Worst Eras For Sprinting”

Eventually, the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) also played a key factor in qualifying the bid. These new add-ons created an extra nuisance that kept the venues trying their hands away from hosting big events. Columbia’s last-minute withdrawal from the Pan-Am games bidding came under one such scanner. However, ultimately, it threw a serious question to sustainability, keeping the athletes’ participation future at stake. 

Watch this story: Most Decorated Olympic Athlete Who Broke Usain Bolt’s Record Goes Down Memory Lane of Her Glorious Career