Noah Lyles on current events

[Conor Dary]

I doubt that there is a single active US T&F athlete that could be recognized by name or photo by anything close to a majority of general US sports fans. I'd be surprised if over 10% of them could identify any athlete besides Carl Lewis or Marion Jones, who are just a tad past current . . .

10% would be 30 million.....I'd go with <1%.

Even in Eugene it would be less than half.

[Atticus]

I doubt that there is a single active US T&F athlete that could be recognized by name or photo by anything close to a majority of general US sports fans. I'd be surprised if over 10% of them could identify any athlete besides Carl Lewis or Marion Jones, who are just a tad past current . . .

I'd love to see those numbers, if they existed, which I'm sure they don't.
If, by general sports fans, you mean regularly read the sports pages or watch SportsCenter or follow something like ESPN on-line (as opposed to just follow their own favorite sports), here's my estimates

Felix 70%
Mondo 70%
McLaughlin 50%
Gatlin 40%
Holloway 30%
Kendricks 30%
Taylor 30%
Kovacs/Crouser 30%
Randall Cunningham's HJ daughter 30%
Morris 20%

[bad hammy]

By photo or name only? Recognized by millions and millions in the US? I'm thinking you're dreaming of the 1960s. And if the photo is in street clothes, forget it . . .

[Conor Dary]

I read the Chicago Tribune every day and the last time any of those names were mentioned anywhere was 4 years ago..... and then just a line on page 8 if that....Centrowitz got a 10 word sentence after winning on page 10.

And suspect most US newspapers are similar...

And Sports Center? I never watch....but considering ESPN barely acknowledges the Olympics exist since they don't cover them, when was the last time any of those names were mentioned.

[gh]

I'd love to see those numbers, if they existed, which I'm sure they don't.
If, by general sports fans, you mean regularly read the sports pages or watch SportsCenter or follow something like ESPN on-line (as opposed to just follow their own favorite sports), here's my estimates

Felix 70%
Mondo 70%
McLaughlin 50%
Gatlin 40%
Holloway 30%
Kendricks 30%
Taylor 30%
Kovacs/Crouser 30%
Randall Cunningham's HJ daughter 30%
Morris 20%

I'd halve those estimates, at a minimum

[1runner1]

I'd love to see those numbers, if they existed, which I'm sure they don't.
If, by general sports fans, you mean regularly read the sports pages or watch SportsCenter or follow something like ESPN on-line (as opposed to just follow their own favorite sports), here's my estimates

Felix 70%
Mondo 70%
McLaughlin 50%
Gatlin 40%
Holloway 30%
Kendricks 30%
Taylor 30%
Kovacs/Crouser 30%
Randall Cunningham's HJ daughter 30%
Morris 20%

I would say less that 5 % would recognize any one of those named with the possible exception of Allyson Felix.6%....the bottom 6...less than 1%

[Conor Dary]

ESPN online has almost nothing on track ....except the occasional positive test story.

[ATK]

Conor twisted my words....I said nothing about the general public...

I was clear about the general RUNNING community

• A High School XC runner
• An average College T&F athlete
• A runner who participates in monthly races in their city and sometimes reads Runners World
• A former athlete who used to run in College and knows nothing about the Diamond League, but sees some races from Worlds

These are people who are involved and follow running in general, but are not die hard fans of T&F like those of us here.

Alysia Montano has a podcast where she recently spoke about this specific thing noting:
“The most followed space is Runner’s World. How many BIPOC people are graced on the cover of Runner’s World magazine? We might get a subtitle or a subheading, but how many times do we grace it?”

Again, excluding the TOP American athletes (Coleman, Felix, Rupp) people in the general running community, would likely be less familiar with black athletes as they tend to be focused and give more light to others in TV/Media/News. This is a part of the systemic issues occurring in the county.

I'm well aware for the General Public, our sport pretty much starts and stops with Usain Bolt.

[Conor Dary]

Runners World? If you think those readers follow track ....well I have a bridge to sell you....

The magazine these days is basically a women's fitness magazine....Running Times that actually covered racing and elite runners folded a few years ago.... no one cares....when my RT subscription was canceled I got RW instead....I couldn't believe how awful it was....questions like... Some women in my running group have children and constantly talk about them and it really annoys me, what can I do about it?

Look at the Runners World website....

Yoga May Help Reduce Symptoms of Depression

New research suggests your downward dogs could be a mental health booster.

https://www.runnersworld.com/

[ATK]

Point still stands in regard to equal representation for black people in American media. T&F/Running has not been exempt from the issues in our country.

[Conor Dary]

Anyone in track who worries about not being on the cover of Runners World should find another line of work....

Track and Field News has plenty of diverse covers....

[bad hammy]

On thing in American T&F I find interesting is, ignoring the best of the absolute best athletes, certain athletes, and specifically distance events in general, are given more spotlight, camera time, and attention in our media, which leads to opportunity

For example, I see athletes like Robby Andrews, Andrew Wheating, Leo Manzano, Ryan Hill and others in the distance realm arguably having gained equal or more "acclaim/recognition" in America than athletes like Walter Dix, Lauryn Williams or Angelo Taylor, who statistically have all been more successful than any of the distance runners (with the understanding were talking about different events).

I was clear about the general RUNNING community

• A High School XC runner
• An average College T&F athlete
• A runner who participates in monthly races in their city and sometimes reads Runners World
• A former athlete who used to run in College and knows nothing about the Diamond League, but sees some races from Worlds

These are people who are involved and follow running in general, but are not die hard fans of T&F like those of us here.

Having a hard time agreeing with much of your premise. First you ignore the absolute best athletes. Without them no one has much media attention.

Then you mention your criteria for the running community, two of which are exclusively mid-distance/distance runners, two of which potentially have other T&F athletes. Seems like your running community is mostly/exclusively mid-distance/distance runners, which means that they may more naturally be interested in other mid/distance runners, not sprinters or hurdlers or field eventers.

And since this thread was talking about the equal access for minorities at the time it appears you think there is a racial component to this supposed media problem. Again, I have a hard time agreeing with any of this.

[Atticus]

By photo or name only? Recognized by millions and millions in the US? I'm thinking you're dreaming of the 1960s. And if the photo is in street clothes, forget it . . .

My premise: say the name to a 'general sports fan' and ask if they can guess where they may have heard it (no hint that it's a sports name). If they say T&F or 'Olympics runner', I win!.
gh may be right, but I like my numbers!

[ATK]

And since this thread was talking about the equal access for minorities at the time it appears you think there is a racial component to this supposed media problem. Again, I have a hard time agreeing with any of this.

I'll end with the note that I disagree. There is a racial component in our sport. That includes access and opportunity, representation in media among other aspects.

[TN1965]

My premise: say the name to a 'general sports fan' and ask if they can guess where they may have heard it (no hint that it's a sports name). If they say T&F or 'Olympics runner', I win!.
gh may be right, but I like my numbers!

I think you have an extra "0" at the end of each number, except Felix is probably known to more than 7% of sports fans.