Warholm's Warning to His Own Sport: "It's Chaos"

Norwegian track and field star Karsten Warholm has voiced strong criticism of the current athletics calendar, describing it as "chaos" and a "bad calendar" that confuses both athletes and the public. Following his success at the European Championships, where he secured gold medals, Warholm highlighted the packed schedule and the proliferation of different competition concepts.

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It is chaos. It is a bad calendar after the European Championships. So it becomes a bit 'happy-go-lucky'.

Warholm expressed concern that the sport is shooting itself in the foot by creating too many overlapping events. He specifically mentioned the Diamond League, Ultimate Championship, and major championships like the Olympics and World Championships, noting that the distinction between them is unclear to many. "It's chaos. It's a bad calendar after the European Championships," Warholm told VG. "So it becomes a bit 'happy-go-lucky'."

He suggested that the Diamond League is a fantastic concept that should be cultivated, but warned that it will take a long time for people to understand what it means to be an "Ultimate Champion." Warholm believes that too many concepts are being introduced without a clear strategy, hoping something will stick. He misses more systematic planning in the calendar.

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Diamond League, I think it is a fantastic concept that should just be cultivated. It will take a long time before people will understand what it means to be an Ultimate Champion.

Furthermore, Warholm pointed out the difficulty for athletes in planning their seasons when major championships like the World Championships are scheduled late in the fall. "There, athletics has a problem. How do the athletes then plan their competitions leading up to the World Championships? It's a puzzle, and we have always been very cynical about which races we participate in leading up to championships. I think we have to continue to be that," he stated.

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There, athletics has a problem. How do the athletes then plan their competitions leading up to the World Championships? It's a puzzle, and we have always been very cynical about which races we participate in leading up to championships. I think we have to continue to be that.