By Louis Ritchie
I feel there's a new sport in men's sprinting in Jamaica. It has been going on since 2014, and is called (LET'S DUCK GATLIN)! Why are track and field fans around the world being cheated out of watching the top men's sprinters, line up at the starting line?
Fans who spend their money to go to these track and field meets, not only want to see the top women sprinters line up at the starting line, but also the top men!
Everybody enjoys watching all the top athletes from the field events, distance running, and especially the top sprinters. But Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake, continue to be no-shows, when it comes to lining up against Justin Gatlin! If I had the money, I'd love to go to all the Diamond League track meets around the world, but not seeing the top male sprinters, would be extremely disappointing.
I was watching the top women sprinters in the 100, 200 and 400 meters last week, and it was really exciting! But when it came to watching the men's 100 and 200 meters, there was no Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake! Are they going to continue with this (LET'S DUCK GATLIN) charade, all the way up to the World Championships? If that's the case, I don't consider them fearless competitors.
If Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown can line up against the world’s top competitors, so can the men! Even though Shelly Ann lost, (she placed 5th.) I really respected her going out there against some of the top women sprinters, and letting it all hang out! Even after losing to Blessing Okagbare, Shelly Ann and Veronica, showed some class, went up and congratulated Blessing on her win.
That's what the track and field fans, want to see from the men sprinters as well! ("BE A MAN, AND PUT YOUR TRACK SPIKES ON, AND TREAT THE TRACK AND FIELD FANS AROUND THE WORLD BY SHOWING SOME FEARLESSNESS"! YOU OWE IT TO THEM!
**The views expressed in this article are those of the author (Louis Ritchie) and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, trackalerts.com.