2024 has been a game-changing year for World Athletics, thanks to its landmark announcements. It kicked off with WA, revealing an unprecedented $50,000 support for track and field Olympic gold medalists, followed by the annual Athlete of The Year nominations. And then came the thrilling news of the World Ultimate Championships debut!

But what’s followed now as the year ends has left fans more shocked than intrigued. It looks like World Athletics is now treading into a redefined era of virtual running with the launch of a fresh competitive circuit and a new category under the umbrella of athletics events. However, the fan sentiment isn’t turning out as expected.

World Athletics’ versatility move backfires?

Track town’s latest news is that World Athletics is mulling over the launch of the World Treadmill Championships, an event where gym equipment (a treadmill) would be used for participants to compete with each other. While this may appear bizarre to athletic fans, it’s interestingly a regular sight in sports like rowing and cycling. But clearly, the fans and the track and field governing body don’t see eye to eye on this.

World Athletics’ CEO, Jon Ridgeon, cited how millions run on a treadmill daily, which ensures that this step will draw a lot of eyes toward the sport. Moreover, he put a spin on the definition of athletics, comparing it with our understanding of mainstream events, He said, “You are an athlete if you go for a 30-minute run on a treadmill or if you win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres. It is all athletics.”   

However, fans aren’t exactly in the mood to pat World Athletics on their backs. One of them took to the comment section of the post and wrote, “Checks calendar to make sure it’s not April 1…“ implying how this seems like a weird prank. Another one resented it over a Reddit thread, “This is honestly so dumb….go ‘head planet fitness or The Gym Group and do this BUT for WA to be thinking about doing this….you all are crazy….who is this for??? Not fans of athletics/ track and field.”

Fans disapprove of the new addition to athletics

On one hand, World Athletics deems this move as an initiative toward making athletics more inclusive and accessible. But to fans, it’s outright crazy. As many gathered to discuss this over Reddit, one of them questioned why would they consider watching virtual treadmill runs as part of sports. They wrote, “Because I’m sure a bunch of people running on treadmills would make for a great television event.”

Among the reasons why track and field are so popular as a sport is because it entails elements of suspense and thrill. Races often have dramatic finishes and unpredictable twists. Plus, the setting, be it in a stadium or the city streets during distance running events like Marathons, ensures that the competition turns into a visually rewarding experience for the spectators. However, a virtual running event will lack all these aspects, leaving the sport devoid of its essence.

Well, speculations over the popularity of this event should it materialize into reality were questionable to another fan. They wrote, “Yeah only time this would attract an audience is during peak covid maybe Seb Coe got the next variant planned.” They assumed only boredom or physical attendance restrictions would force people to watch this virtual sport.

But World Athletics’ President Sebastian Coe surely had other thoughts. He remarked, “You might have to watch this space, but ultimately, why not? We have to embrace and we have got to take our sport to where people are. That is crucial.” He also confirmed that exploring the possibility of virtual events was something that was most definitely on WA’s radar. “Whether it is through virtual, whether it is through Esports, whether it is through treadmill, these are all the things that we want to really explore.”

However, track and field truly soared to new heights this season, proving just how much people are enjoying the sport. If we look at the sport’s statistics, the track and field trials garnered an average viewership of 4.5 million across NBC and Peacock throughout the 8 days of competition, which was a whopping 38% increase from the 2021 trials. Particularly, the men’s 100m trials touched the 5.2 million mark, which has been the highest in 12 years. And well, the 100m Olympic finals in Paris smashed all records, amassing about 35 million viewers.

Now how much of this will be retained in World Athletics’ virtual running initiative is surely questionable. However, a fraction of people are quite keen to watch the turnout. Another one of the users chimed in with, “honestly, part of me is curious how much of a difference a treadmill would make, but on the other hand this is kinda… ehhhh ngl.”

Well, it’s true that the fitness and running culture has taken over the masses in recent years. Events like Hyrox have recorded 1000 percent growth in participation in just half a decade, while the Marathon participation figures have also gone up exponentially. Thus, this step may give running a further boost, diverting the enthusiasts to take their passion to the global stage. What do you think? Let us know below!