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≡ SILLY SPEED ≡
When you have 36 million subscribers on YouTube and other channels, you get attention.
In yet another Super Bowl week sound-off in track & field, Darren Watkins Jr. – known as “IShowSpeed” – faced off with 2023 World women’s 100 m champ and Paris silver medalist Sha’Carri Richardson, challenging her to a race.
“Speed” challenged U.S. sprint star Noah Lyles back on 6 November and was promptly dusted over 50 m, with Lyles exerting very little effort, but intentionally keeping it close enough not to embarrass him. So now he met up with Richardson, accompanied by friend Christian Coleman, the 2019 World Champion and equal-sixth all-time at 9.76.
The informal meet-up was taped, of course, and posted on Saturday (8th) with Speed exclaiming: “We gotta race, Sha’Carri (saying ‘sha’car-re’).”
She immediately corrected him, “It’s Sha’Carri (‘sha’carry’).” And then it went on from there:
● Richardson: “Before we race, I got to teach you how to be a sprinter first. So if you want to come down to my training camp, maybe for a week, maybe a couple days, I give you …”
● Speed: “A couple days, a day. What about a day?”
● Richardson: “Let’s set it up.”
● Speed: “So after that day, I can race you.”
Well, Richardson wasn’t going to make it that easy:
“You come down for a day, you do my entire workout, and after that, we can set something up. But you got to do what I do first before we race. … You got to be a track athlete first before a race.”
Speed immediately demurred, shaking his head and saying, “I’m going to be burned.“
Richardson slammed back, “No, you’re not. I do it every day. We do it every day. So you work out first with me, then the next day we’re going to race.” Then, after a little more chit-chat, and Richardson promising to set this up, Speed wanted to know what he’s getting himself into:
“How long the workout?”
Richardson – who has a best of 10.65 from 2023, no. 5 all-time – was ready now:
“Nine to two. So you got to do a workout from nine to two, on the track, in the weight room, first, every day included and then we race. … You got to be an athlete, a track athlete.
“You got to be all the way a track athlete before we race. You got to endure what we do on a daily, before we race.”
Speed replied, “I’m going to still win, though,” to which Richardson replied “I don’t know about that. I don’t talk too much [what?]… And then if you want to race, this is Christian Coleman.” (Comment added)
Speed then said, “I already beat Noah,” to which Coleman shot back, “No, you didn’t. I saw the video.” And a young bystander added in, “Noah went easy on you,” which Speed was not expecting.
Speed was put in his place, but certainly didn’t care, since he got a two-minute video out of it and lots of views. And if there’s a race, it will be great for Speed, but what does Richardson get out of it? Time for their agents to talk and a sponsor(s) to be found.
Observed: This kind of foolishness is good for exposing the stars of track & field, like Lyles and Richardson, to an audience that might not know much about them already. Watkins, 20, is brilliant at this, but is, at the end of the day, promoting himself.
Lyles, Richardson and Coleman are not Grand Slam Track “Racers” but could make cameo appearances as “Challengers” in Michael Johnson’s new circuit. They will appear in other meets, on the way to the USATF Championships at the end of July to try and make the U.S. team for the Tokyo Worlds in September.
But all of this silliness, with Lyles jawing with Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and now this challenge to Richardson, showcases one of the issues with track & field which makes it so different from leagues which can comprehensively promote its stars across an entire season, based on a published schedule in which specific players can be expected to play.
Johnson’s Grand Slam Track is a move forward in the right direction and as he has noted, the inaugural season is still a couple of months away. Perhaps his approach will be the right one, but unlike Major League Baseball, or the NFL, NBA, NHL or the many soccer leagues, there is no seasonal schedule in which you can reliably expect your favorite stars to compete.
That is one of the things that is holding the sport back.
¶
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