mxico wrote:
There are a lot of factors involved:
1.-There's no system in place to develop long term talent, we have a competition to develop kids from young age, and the only things it achieves it's a burnout of young athletes. This competition National Olympics, works like this: if you win top 2 in your municipal area you go to state championship, if you place top 2 there, you go to regional championship and finally if you get top 2 there you go to the nationals. That may sound as a good thing, the problem is since state budget is used there, sports governing bodies in each state need to win medals, much more than develop an athlete, that creates a situation where you have great athletes badly developed that burnout pretty young.
2-There's no chance you'll live thanks to the sport, the last mexican star Ana Guevara left T&F because she lacked the support of the CONADE, which us something like USA T&F but for all sports, so there's no incentive in being a runner or a jumper or a thrower.
3.-There is no real university system in place to develop athletes, there's a national championship but it's nowhere near the level of D1, and people who develop and focus themselves on T&F during university, have a hard time after. Theres a piece a while back about an olympian from Mexico, I think in modern penthathlon, he studied in the best university in Mexico, had a master's and everything, so when the time came to retire, he couldn't find a job, he has more than prepared but the lack of professional experience hit him hard.
4.-Finally, there's just more money in soccer, just like in the US where some athletes do track but ultimately go to the NFL, here's the same but with soccer, if you're in the U17 national team they pay you a lot and take of you, obviously money goes up as age, knew a sprinter who was a national champ but just went with soccer because he could make a living out of it. (He's currently playing professional in the mexican league)
There'es talent no doubt about it, but there's no interest in developing by governing authorities. Search Moroni Rubio, a sprinter from Mexico, he used to beat Usain Bolt when they were juniors, sadly he was overworked and injured himself.