The Road to Doha: The Road is Long

As indoor track ends, it’s time to turn our focus to the outdoor season and what is sure to be another exciting year. Starting in May, the qualification window for the Tokyo Olympics opens up (technically its already open for some of the less contested events) and the Doha Diamond League Meeting is on May 3^rd. But it’s another Doha event that will be the major focus of the 2019 season: the IAAF World Championships.

This year’s world outdoor championships are not what your used to. By the time the games close, it will actually be October, meaning high schoolers and collegiates will be fully engaged in cross country by the time the professional track season is finished. Because of the climate in Doha, the championships will take place from September 27^th to October 6^th. For comparison, the 2017 championships in London ran from August 4^th to August 13^th and the championships haven’t dipped into September since 2011 (when the last day was of competition was still only the 4^th). We are talking about an unprecedented schedule which will make things very tricky for competitors training schedules.

For starters, the USA Championships (which will be the qualifying event for Worlds) are held at the end of July. It’s roughly a month later than the championships are typically held, but still two months out from the games. That’s an early peak for professionals who are aiming to compete for medals in the fall.

Things are especially complicated for NCAA athletes looking to compete at national championships. Most years, NCAA athletes only have to hold their peak for a couple extra weeks before USAs, but this year they will have to last from June 8^th (the end of NCAAs) to July 25^th. Personally, I’m comfortable with this time increase. If you are nervous about holding your peak until July, imagine holding it until October? But typically, America has some of their best guys and girls competing at the collegiate level so we will potentially lose talent that isn’t willing to give up 4 more months for intense training.

The Wild Card system is also different from year’s past. Typically, the reigning world champion (from 2 years earlier) and the reigning diamond league champion (from 1 year earlier) are automatically qualified for the world championships and, as a result, their country can send 4 in that event. However, because the championships are so late, the 2019 Diamond League will end before the championships (atypical), meaning that the 2019 DL Champs rather than the 2018 DL Champs will get the wild cards. Since the DL doesn’t end until after USAs, this means that its possible someone who gets 4^th at the US Championships will find out a month or so later that they have qualified for worlds because one of the top 3 finishers won the Diamond League Final. It makes standard chasing very important through August for anyone who was even in contention for a qualifying spot at their national championships.

One last thing I found interesting is the WC Marathon. Although the US isn’t a powerhouse in the marathon the way it is in other events, I suspect it will be hard for them to convince three runners to compete in this year’s worlds. As mentioned, the races aren’t until late in the year and US Olympic Trials for the 2020 Tokoyo marathon (a much more prestigious marathon globally and nationally) are happening on February 29^th in Atlanta. That means you would have about a 5 month turnaround between events. It’s not impossible, but it’s also a tighter turnaround than you might want as you chase an Olympic dream. There will without a doubt be athletes that seize the opportunity to represent their country on one of the biggest stages in athletics, but it will be interesting to see how many skip Worlds for a chance at the Olympics. Especially considering that the US Marathoning at Worlds is typically an afterthought compared to major marathons like New York (only about 2 months after Doha), Boston or Chicago. Plus, those events may be worth more toward the world rankings if you can guarantee a top finish (a top 10 finish at a WMM is actually worth the Olympic Trials A standard for 2020).