It seems that track and field news is facing another challenge ahead of them. It seems that LaShawn Merritt, who has been very successful this year in the 400, made a statement after a race against Jeremy Wariner that he felt that the race “was set up.” There seems to be some inner tension between these two runners– and it just looks like it is continuing to build up for the Beijing Olympics. However, one of the more interesting points was made at the conclusion of this particular post. Merritt even went on record to say this about how he feels about track and field:

“The sport needs help. A lot of things go on in this sport that people don’t know about. The sport is messed up a little bit. At the end of the day it’s a business. My mom always told me to come out, race and have fun. Over all I feel good. Come Bejing, I’m going to do what I need to do to get the gold.”

I just have one thing to say– wow. That is a pretty bold statement– if a professional athlete like Merritt says that track needs some help, that is saying a lot. He does have a unique perspective being a high-profile professional athlete and has an insight into the inner politics involved. Track is struggling to find its image and deal with crises and PR Nightmares– and time will only tell if it will overcome and re-establish its credibility and trust among its audiences, or not. We will have to wait and see.

Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂

Best Wishes,

Karen 🙂