Below is an excerpt from the Lap Count newsletter, posted with permission. Kyle Merber’s Lap Count newsletter both entertains and enlightens fans about athletes and happenings in our sport.
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From the Lap Count Newsletter
The World Championship Mailbag – Let’s Get Hungary!
The United States didn’t win any medals in the distance events on home soil. Does this team have a chance to pull off a surprise medal that maybe we aren’t expecting?
We have Paul Chelimo, don’t we? So of course there is a chance! Prior to Eugene, the last time that the United States didn’t win a distance medal at a global championship was in 2005 in Helsinki. (And no, the 800m does not count as a distance event.) But that stat puts into perspective just how much of an outlier 2022 was despite the home-field advantage and availability of Eugene-made honey.
That said, let’s run through the names on this team that have medaled before: Chelimo and Emma Coburn. We are going to need some young blood to step up!
A fairly obvious hope is in Yared Nuguse, who is ranked second in the world in the 1500. Sinclaire Johnson was 6th in 2022 and Nikki Hiltz, who was a finalist in 2019, beat her at USAs – I don’t think either of them get gold though… Keira D’Amato was 8th last year and recently ran an American record in the half marathon. But if I can insert an athlete you might not expect into this conversation, how about Elise Cranny in the 10,000m.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on what Athing Mu’s coach said about her maybe choosing not to race at Worlds. What are we supposed to make of this as fans?
Some context for those who missed the LA Times article that included this bombshell, it featured coach Bobby Kersee saying, “It’s in our control if we decide we’re just going to go ahead and train through this year and focus on next year… the next time she gets on the plane it’ll either be on vacation or to Budapest.”
There is a lot to unpack here. First off, I hope Athing goes to Worlds because she is a joy to watch run and she is clearly in great form this summer. But I also hope Athing is okay in general.
This is the complicated part of being a sports fan in 2023. Athlete mental health is at the forefront of all of our minds. But it’s also a professional endeavor and it should still be acceptable to remain critical of performances and decisions when done respectfully.
Now let’s not pretend that two extra weeks of training before taking a vacation in August are really going to prepare an athlete any better physically for the Paris Olympics. If that’s truly the case, then Kersee is doing Athing no favors, especially in the court of public opinion. It is objectively good for the sport to have her winning medals and breaking records.
But it seems like she is struggling with some level of burnout or anxiety and this pretty bizarre statement is an example of a coach trying to protect his athlete. If that’s the case, then I understand. If it’s just deciding that the World Championships do not matter – which sounds so insane to even suggest – then I hate this sport.
I need your help writing a pitch to my friends to sell them on watching track, specifically the World Championships. Could you write me a script?
How you should go about plugging track to your friends depends a lot on what your friends are like. But since I’m so invested in your success, I’ve drafted a couple different elevator pitches, based on the type of person you might fraternize with.
For the aspiring insider…
“The Olympics are next year. I know you love to watch them because everyone loves to watch them. But I’m gonna let you in on something. You know track? It’s huge at the Olympics.
And because I follow it year ‘round, I get more out of the Olympics than you do. I know the players, the rivalries, the stakes. The Olympics are great for a casual viewer. But imagine tuning into the Super Bowl, barely understanding the rules of football, and caring about anything other than the commercials.
The track world champs are this weekend – come over to watch with me and we can be insufferable together for Paris 2024!”
For the fearer of being late to the party…
“Well, those bastards over at Netflix have done it again. From the dangerous minds who brought you that super addictive show about Formula 1 – that has made 1/8th of our friends into armchair experts on the sport overnight – comes the exact same premise, but about track & field.
When [NAME OF FRIEND WHO IS NOW AN F1 GEEK] comes up to you in six months regurgitating talking points straight from the new track show, wouldn’t it be sick to be able to counter with some original ideas of your own?
Track’s world champs are this weekend – come over to watch with me and I can spoon-feed you takes about track that I get from my favorite weekly track newsletter.”
What race do you predict will be the most exciting to watch this year? I am looking for drama like last year’s men’s 1500 or women’s 10,000m!
The 5000m on both sides is going to be sooooo good. There are eight men who’ve run 12:46 or faster this year and that’s not including the defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Those dudes just keep full sending it from the start and the prospect of having to outkick a 3:27 guy at the end means they’ll likely do it again.
Then there is the second battle between the current world record holder and the former. What did Letesenbet Gidey learn from her earlier run-in with Faith Kipyegon in Paris? I don’t think a slower pace will help her odds…
(Check out and subscribe to the Lap Count newsletter for more Q&A wisdom from Kyle)
