Even without Magic Mo, athletics will always be pure gold
ThE World Athletics Championships in london were a brilliant showcase, highlighting what is so great about the sport — countries from most continents producing drama and spectacle. But what is the future of track and field, especially considering problems such as drugs, gender, IAAF incompetence and corruption? Boxing, cycling, weightlifting, baseball, bodybuilding and football have all been tarnished with similar abuses, and yet each sport survives. Mixed martial arts is the world’s fastest-growing combat sport and yet, like boxing, it can cause brain damage to your opponent. Yes, advocates of the sport will bang on about the grace, skill and spectacle, but nothing removes the fact that every fighter tries for a knockout and every medical book will tell you this causes brain damage. The World Medical Association called for a ban on boxing more than 20 years ago. Despite all this pressure, the sport is thriving. And what about road cycling? Drug taking on an epic scale was de rigueur in the past. lance Armstrong’s epic cheating makes sprinter Justin Gatlin look like a choir boy. The sport has been cleaned up, and we saw in the recent Tour de France that it is more popular than ever. Athletics doesn’t need a Usain Bolt or Mo Farah to create a shop window for the sport, because the sport is bigger than mere individuals. Ultimately, the chief asset of athletics is its simplicity. Who hasn’t run at some point in their lives? Who hasn’t tried to outdo their family and friends in a jumping competition, or tried to best their buddies in throwing the furthest? At its heart no particular equipment is needed, not even special clothes, so participation does not need any monetary outlay. how many sports can boast that? The sport’s benefits and simplicity will outdo the gloom expressed by many commentators. As track and field legend Jesse Owens said: ‘Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.’ DAVID VANDYKE, Shoreham-by-Sea, W. Sussex.