At the little shows like NCAA Champs, Footlocker HS XC, IAAF NYC DL, Pre Classic DL, USATF Outdoors you might get a couple of dozen journalists. The T&F OTs will get 40-50 journalists.
In contrast, NYM gets a few hundred journalists, IAAF WCs gets 800-1000 journalists, The Olys, 3000 journalists. An entire convention hall has to be rented out for teh Press Corps.
A dead year is the worst for the body. Elites take the winter off. That's enough.
The World Championships were started in 1983. In the beginning they were held every four years, and they were always one year before the Olympic Games. Every other even year after the Olympic year was the European Championships. Later, the IAAF filled the remaining odd year with another World Championships in order to have a major track meet every single year. Thus, the even years are the Olympic year and European Championships. And the odd years are the World Championships. That is why they did it this way.
Why not just have the Olympics every year?
Pay me Now wrote:
Global events on a yearly basis are needed to keep fans. We must add an IAAF Worlds in the empty fourth year. It's stupid and costs professionals appearance fees and bonus opportunities not having a WC or Olys every year.
What? Very few athletes even win prize money in the WCs. None get appearance fees and bonuses only if their private sponsors feel like it.
Those fans you need to keep, will they be as interested in a WC if several of the big names decide to skip it because they've just done three successive big years focusing on a WC, Olympics and another WC?
Why not have the World Cup every year? Why not the Olympics? Why not have the swimming WCs every year instead of every odd year?
Once you've answered those questions, have a look at how many cities are willing and able to bid on a WC to a level you feel it deserves.
Exactly. Already the Marathon World Championships are starting to loose popularity and less elite people are running it due to huge loose of money.
The reason for this is because all they get is a medal for running it and although you get alot of prestige for winning it often times it stops you from doing a spring and Fall marathon because of when it is run so for the best it could literally cost them $700,000 in Prize Money and Appearance fees to run it and then for people like Wanjiru and Geb they already have medals and records so they don't need that extra boost.
If they changed it to one year the Marathon Championships would have almost no one running it. And the Championships would just be another meet for Track people and other sports people so really it should stay in 2 year segments.
RoffR wrote:
The reason for this is because all they get is a medal for running it and although you get alot of prestige for winning it
To be fair there is prize money at Worlds.
1st 60,000; 2nd 30,000; 3rd 20,000; 4th 15,000; 5th 10,000; 6th 6000; 7th 5000; 8th 4000
But given that pretty well anyone finishing in the top ten is probably capable of commanding five or six digit appearance fees at a commercial race, plus equivalent prize money, you're correct in that they are sacrificing a significant amount of money to compete at Worlds.
Don't get me wrong Worlds are a great place to win if your a 2:07-2:08 runner because $60,000 dollars in prize money and appeareance fees is about how much money you would get at any given race(Unless you are an American, in which case Worlds are really not good at all because you won't win even if you are good and if your that good in the U.S. and are American you probably make loads of prize money). And for people trying to get back into the racing style or get their name out, Worlds are perfectly good for Marathoning, probably one of the best if not the best for that particular purpose as if you win Worlds people will probably start offering you good appearance fees and a win at Worlds could get you an Olympic spot. Also, the World Championships are pretty good to help pick up some WMM(World Marathon Majors)points as honestly getting into the top five at Worlds is probably easier than any of the Five big races(Berlin, Chicago, New York, Boston, London) and obviously much much easier than the Olympic Marathon which is obviously the hardest to get into the top 5 other than possibly the London Marathon its self.
The problem comes when you try to get really good runners like Patrick Makau, Sammy Wanjiru, Geoffrey Mutai, or Haile Gebrsalassie. The World Championship Marathon is almost absolutely no use to them as they already get loads of appearance fees and it would interfer hugely with their prize money, racing plans, training, and possibly World Marathon Major(WMM) points. So it's not going to attract the best unlike the Big 5 and Olympic Marathon.
Although I do not think that it is the easiest major to win, just to get in the top Five or Ten(probably still very challenging).
new to the sport wrote:
Why not all three years between Olympics? Do other sports likes swimming or gymnastics do this also?
Why not something like:
World Indoors
World Cross Country
World Outdoors
Olympics
They're already moving World XC to every two years. If it was once every four years (which is probably what will happen if it ends up being attached to the winter olympics, I would imagine) it would possibly become more of a big deal and attract the elites who generally skip it. Then put outdoors and indoors in the years between. Indoors being in the winter could maybe allow the athletes to set up a training cycle that leads into World XC a year later. Then cross being in the winter allows an open summer to qualify for world outdoors, run fast times, etc. Then there's a full year to build toward the outdoor championships and another full year to build toward the Olympics. The truly long distance runners could do a spring marathon instead of indoors, I guess. I'm not sure this championship cycle would work as well for marathoners.