Is there any difference between world champ and the Olympics?

someone mentioned kids, and the deal is almost any kid who can qualify, HS or college, will do oly trials and buy their lottery ticket. only so many in a career window, means everything if you get there. quincy wilson.

that is not as true in worlds years. some kids might try "off year trials," many will not. they might chase U20 instead. they might call it a season, prepare for the next year or college. "there'll be another one in 2 years."

I would put winning your local Turkey Trot up there with Olympic gold.

I know you are joking a bit, but you actually nail the biggest problem for track.

Track&field was always the marquis event of the Olympics. That was both a bonus and a curse.

Diamond League tried to create a series of 'majors' and a championship, but due lack of prize money, clarity of purpose, and modest TV viewership has not become a pro tour, or premier league equivalent.

Only like the NBC Burbank owned Olys are 10,000 times more important than the little side show that the DL or WA has.

Before the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics the Olys was huge, The #1 Sports event in the World.

After the Loa Angeles 1984 Olympics the Olys became a LIVE Hollywood International Extravaganza in over 200 countries with their own language and LIVE event coverage.

It was locally produced by Hollywood under L.A. County anti-corruption laws fashioned after 1950s Game Show Rigging scandals and Payola bribes. Nealy all of the ITOs drove to the venues, slept at home in their own bed, ate the wife's cooking. Union Mandates. The Jantors and Parking Attendants had full medical, dental and were paid a living wage for expensive L.A.

Compton native Kevin Costner's 1989 movie Field of Dreams "Build It and They Will Come" ushered in 10,000 new venues worldwide. Now, decades later, TV domination has returned to the $Trillion Hollywood TV Internet Streamers. We should have a yearly permanent Summer Olys in L.A. and Winter Olys in Salt Lake City area to save $B on construction waste, instead use the money to pay the Oly athletes.

I kind of chuckled at that post you quoted. Sports like Track and Field and Swimming have always been at the core of the Olympics. It is funny, Soccer was well on the same path until the 1932 LA Games when the USA refused to sponsor it. FIFA said screw that... and the World Cup was born.

Different sports developed through different models.

An Olympic gold medal gets you on a Wheaties box, talk shows a Worlds Gold means nothing to anyone but track fans.

Some of the venues of the build out did well like Levi's Santa Clara 49ers but many like Hayward Field was not architected well and failed to attract fans while the nearby Autzen Stadium and Knight Center are doing ver well.

FIFA staff is barred from World Cup Los Angeles 2026 by L.A.County Union Mandates and Stan Kronke's So Fi Stadium. Local media has the rights. FIFA people can still buy tickets and be fans though.

Greg Foster would have loved to trade medals with Roger Kingdom.

Olympics are MUCH BIGGER In MEDIA, Local Papers give lots of Press on Olympics almost none on World Championships, Competition wise they are the same level Defending Champ is in and top 3 in Countries if they have all hit the Standard, So in the World Championshipsyou can have 4 People in an event if you have the Most Recent Champion, So USA can have 4 In The Sprints from the USA or Jamaica And 4 Ethiopians or Kenyans in the 5000, 10000 or Marathon, Olympics is 3 from Country if they have the standard PERIOD.

Still basically the same

NBC Hollywood owns the Olympics. Flotrak, inAustin TX owns the Diamond League ex the tiny, failed Eugene Class E meeting, and World Athletics is owned by Monaco although most volunteers are from London OK. The Olympics are about 1,000,000 times the TV and live stadium audience of Dl and WA.

The World Championships have a much higher profile in Europe than in the US where the Olympics is the only game in town when it comes to track and field.