How would you know if they have no interest or not?
Perhaps their contracts don’t incentivize CC. Perhaps they are having to focus on indoors, outdoors, training blocks.
Becoming an Olympic sport would change everything for the top distance runners and their sponsors.
I just hope it becomes an Olympic sport before Grant Fisher retires from running. He is a two time Footlocker champion and has said many timed how much he likes and would like to race CC again.
May the best Cross Country runners make the team.
Would it be individual or team? if it’s in 2030 I’m thinking Graham Blanks, Nico Young and Parker Wolfe.
The qualifying time for Olympic cross country will be 21:19 8k on a hilly course. Of course World Athletics hopes to see half of the entries come from world rankings.
Why Winter Olympics? I think all Winter Olympics sports have to be held on ice or snow. XC could be summer Olympics and just reuse the mountain biking course.
Why Winter Olympics? I think all Winter Olympics sports have to be held on ice or snow. XC could be summer Olympics and just reuse the mountain biking course.
Primarily so African countries can participate in the Winter Olympics, which most African countries are generally currently otherwise excluded from. Secondarily because world's is contested in the winter and it is considered a "winter" sport.
If it happens, it won't be the type of xc you're used to. It will be in the winter, in a country where there is a real winter, with lots of snow, so you will see them run a a feet deep snow.
They are doing surfing in Fiji.... they can figure this out
Sounds like it would be closer to pro trail running than XC. Terrain that's steep enough that bikers need to regularly dismount sounds like "hands on knees uphill" kind of running
One obvious rebuttal for xc in Winter OG is that in the big picture of All possible OG sports the talent pool is almost identical to those who have the 5000 and 10000m track options in summer.
Another is the cap on athlete numbers and so adding XC would involve some existing winter OG sports having to take a hit on their entries.
No doubt there's a possibility but it's not straightforward. Possibly the Africa virtue signalling thing will be a positive for the cause.