USA Track and Field (USATF) and local event organizer Jesse Williams have teamed up to boost athletics popularity in the United States.
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USA Track and Field (USATF) and local event organizer Jesse Williams have teamed up to boost athletics popularity in the United States ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. Two occasions will occur in Southern California the following month as a part of their strategic strategy to elevate athletics to the fifth-most followed sport in the nation by 2028. The Los Angeles Grand Prix, scheduled for May 26 at Drake Stadium at UCLA, will be the first event.
The occasion is known as a “distance carnival.” A three-hour event that will be carried on NBC for two hours the following day is planned. It will be followed by a “USATF Legends Jam” event on UCLA University’s campus. The occasion will put innovative concepts to the test, such as equipping a few athletes with microphones so they can address the crowd while warming up.
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Robert Brisco, the CEO of event sponsor WebMD, stated, “Track and field has an opportunity to innovate much more than it has over the last couple of decades, and that innovation stands at the intersection of fans, athletes, sponsors, and television.” He added that “The way the sport has evolved over the last couple decades hasn’t entirely kept pace with what you’ve seen in other professional sports but there’s no good reason for that.”
Jesse Williams, who created Sound Running in 2019 and is behind Track Fest, intends to recreate the “night at the track” with a two-hour competition on May 6 at the Hilmer Lodge Stadium. The competition features races between 800 and 10,000 meters, and it is anticipated to draw some of the best distance runners in the world from both the US and other countries. A live concert, access to food trucks, and a beer garden are all included in the $15 entry price.
Williams believes that athletics must innovate to move forward. He stated, “If the sport’s going to move forward, we can’t move forward in the packaging it’s in right now.” The USATF and Williams hope that these events will lead to greater interest and participation in athletics and will help achieve their goal of making athletics the fifth-most followed sport in the US by 2028.
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USATF is the national governing body for track and field, cross-country running, road running, and race walking in the United States. The organization is involved in many aspects of the sport at the local, national, and international levels, providing rules, officials, coaching education, sports science, and athlete development, youth programs, masters competition, the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, and the annual meeting.
The USATF also conducts many annual championships, including the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships, the USA Cross Country Championships, the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, and the USATF National Club Track & Field Championships. The organization was established in 1979 as The Athletics Congress.
