Losing hurdles star Devon Allen to American Football is a blow to athletics
US national 110m hurdles champion , and a two-time Olympic finalist ( 2016 and 2021 ), and yet he is leaving the sport . How do you grow a fan base in the sport when your stars are leaving ?
Similarly , how do you entice new sponsors and spectators to the sport ? In South Africa , we have the example of the 2019 SA Junior Championships being streamed live with only one camera . Some in the sport said that “ at least the biggest sponsors of the sport , the parents , could watch ,” but what kind of a message is the sport sending when we are happy to stream a national championships with only one fixed camera ? I have heard from more than one sponsor that they cannot take the sport seriously if the sport doesn ’ t do so itself .
Telling Good News Stories
Athletics has so much to offer – just look at the Sydney McLaughlin story . Three times the American hurdler has broken the World Record in the 400m hurdles , and her 50.68-second win in Eugene would have placed her 7th in the 400m flat final . What a story ! Also , Nigeria ’ s Tobi Amusan ran a World Record in the 100m hurdles semi-final , and only a 2.5m wind reading prevented her from running another one in the final , which she won . Which made her the first Nigerian to ever win gold at a World Championships . Oh , and when she was young , her father burnt her training gear , because she wasn ’ t supposed to become an athlete .
There are so many stories the world over such as these , but very few people know about them . I was interviewed on 702 the other day , and the host freely admitted he didn ’ t really watch the sport much , but wanted to know why South Africa had done so poorly . ( See my article on page 54 for more on that .) The fact that that SA performed “ poorly ” made news , but not all the other incredible stories . And that is a trend the world over .
So , in order for the sport to grow , and to create new heroes to entice more people to the stadiums , the
way the sport is sold needs to change , and the sport needs to take responsibility itself to tell its stories . This means the federations , athletes , coaches , stakeholders ( this includes people like me ), etc .
Fortunately , there are some already doing this . In Eugene , a group calling themselves Citius Mag were brilliant in telling the stories and humanising the athletes . World 110m hurdles Champion , Grant Holloway , was enjoying a glass of wine in his interview . Five-time World Champ Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce was asked why Jamaica makes the best KFC ! It is this out of the box thinking that had the sport excited , and had the best athletes wanting to talk to Citius Mag . They were brilliant . Similarly , here in SA , Athletics South Africa needs to get creative in how the stories of our athletes are told . And yes , that requires some resources , but it doesn ’ t have to be overly expensive .
Other Changes that Could Help
One idea that is admittedly controversial , but could be explored a bit more , is betting . Gambling happens in nearly all sports , just not in athletics . In fact , it is taboo in the sport , with the rules prohibiting even the advertising of gambling . Yes , there is the danger of betting scandals , such as we have seen in football ( soccer ) and cricket , but this is an area that could make a massive difference in the sport . Just imagine the hype you could create by offering betting odds on who will beat Eliud Kipchoge , or how many records will fall at a World Championships , etc .
The role of the media is another contentious area . As mentioned above , media by and large only tell the ‘ negative stories ,’ but that ’ s because it sells media space . To get around that , we need to change the narrative by pushing the good stuff . For example , here in SA , 100m sensation Viwe Jingqi is a story that needs to be pushed – obviously within reason , and not to her detriment . And the media can help if given access to athletes . I don ’ t mean physical access , I mean by continually letting the media know about these incredible stories , so that they get to the point where they are actively looking for ‘ good news stories .’ The point is that it ’ s not all doom and gloom in the sport , even if there are no medal stories to tell . The sport has so much to offer , and if the stakeholders get involved , it will flourish .
Images : BackSport & courtesy Olaf Brockmann , Twitter
Nigerian World Champ Tobi Amusan , a great story to excite fans of the sport
The Citius Mag team did fun , entertaining but cheap and simple coverage of the World Champs
Viwe Jingqi is a ‘ good news story ’ coming out of South African athletics
About the Author
Manfred Seidler is a freelance sport journalist who has been in the industry since 1994 , in both print media and broadcasting , covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio , and producing various athletics shows for the SABC . Follow him on Twitter : @ sportmansa ; Facebook : Sport Man SA ; Instagram : sportman _ sa .
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