World Athletics broke a 35-year old tradition: Is this good?

The World Athletics just broke a 35-year-old tradition, and the fans are split in their views about the unexpected move.

After track and field athletes closed another chapter of their careers this season, there was one thing that they and their supporters all looked forward to: the World Athletics Awards. The ten finalists were announced last month, five for each male and female, and the governing body, its members, and the fans had a few weeks to cast their vote about who deserved the title the most.

Historically speaking, there was only supposed to be one male and one female winner. So when it was announced via press release and social media that 6 out of 10 finalists had won, it caught everyone by surprise, including the athletes themselves.

Breaking away from tradition

As it turned out, the organization had split the award into three categories, with two winners announced for each: track, field, and out of stadia. They explained that they made this decision because it was too difficult to narrow down the vote to one athlete due to the variety of disciplines and the wide range of skills.

The winners of the male category were Kelvin Kiptum (Out of Stadia), Armand Duplantis (Field), and Noah Lyles (Track). In the female division, the winners were Tigist Assefa (Out of Stadia), Yulimar Rojas (Field), and Faith Kipyegon (Track).

While some fans were quick to warm up to the concept and support the organization, saying it made ‘sense’ and that ‘there will be so much excitement in the future’, others expressed their disagreement.

They bemoaned the sudden decision, calling it “preposterous” and essentially “watering down” the essence of the award.

It’s giving we were lazy, so we just decided to give six athletes the award.

You’ve been giving the award out for 35 years, and now all of a sudden it’s “incredibly hard to limit the vote to just one athlete.”

Give me a break!!! https://t.co/vdNT2HGpXa pic.twitter.com/0JD6jYeopt

— Owen M (@_OwenM_) December 11, 2023

Micheal Johnson on the change

Former US sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson also joined in on the conversation, asking on X whether anyone else thought six athletes of the year was a bad idea.

Am I the only person who thinks having six athletes of the year is a bad idea? Am I missing something? Just saw it is track, field, and out of stadia categories. So maybe it makes sense. https://t.co/GMcvwI2s6x

— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) December 12, 2023

Noah Lyles, one of the award recipients, told the reporters after the ceremony that it was “not what he expected.” He went on to say that everyone was taken aback, especially when they heard their names being mentioned one after the other.

“It was a little confusing,” said Lyles. “I agree with the idea, I just wish we knew that this is what was going to happen…we were all led to believe that we were all fighting for the same trophy. Very shocking, big plot twist.”

The communication by @WorldAthletics is nonexistent. The fact the athletes themselves weren’t even aware of the change with the awards year is shocking and it does feel like a slap in the face to them! I’m interested in hearing Noah’s thoughts soon.

🎥 tandfnewsuk pic.twitter.com/eho11m4J69

— Owen M (@_OwenM_) December 12, 2023