The mall pole vault and addition of the high jump this year inside a Des Moines Hy-Vee are exactly what track and field needs in order to grow the sport and attract new fans. The US Champs in Des Moines was very lackluster compared to the Drake Relays. I still think US Champs should be in Oregon but hope USATF, Nike, and other track and field organizations will learn from this and keep trying to grow the sport.
The USATF is working with Drake this weekend. Nike has nothing to do with what the USATF does on event promotion unless it has something to do with Pre. Keep in mind Des Moines was responsible to fill the stadium for USA's. That's why they bid on the event. Drake has been doing these things before Hy-Vee came into the picture.
Rumor has it the USATF is working on a series of track and field events in the streets of different cities in the US.
I will say Hy-Vee seems to be an awesome sponsor. Wish there were more of those types out there. Congrats Drake Relays.
This is just awesome
So great for the sport!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/aaronwj/olympians-compete-in-a-grocery-store-60q1
Nike don't have the same kinda money as Hy-Vee!
Don't forget about the shot put held in a train station during a Zurich DL meet
http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/ostapchuk-vs-adams-in-oslo-samsung-diamond
BullDawg wrote:
So great for the sport!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/aaronwj/olympians-compete-in-a-grocery-store-60q1
It's cool to have competitions in places not typically associated with said competition. See the popularity of the NHL outdoor games as proof of that.
Drake Relays > Mt. Sac (fun wise)
USATF even has a free broadcast of tonight's pro events.
http://live.usatf.tv.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/live.html