The Olympics Have Ended, But We Still Care—And This Is Why
The Olympics may be over, but your favorite athletes from Rio are still competing.
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Just because the Olympics have come to an end, doesn’t mean your favorite athletes are just done until 2020. Here is why you should keep up with track and field, even long after the Olympics are over.
Your favorite athletes are still racing.
In fact, Emma Coburn, the first U.S. woman to ever medal in the Olympic steeplechase (she took bronze) is racing this upcoming Saturday at the Paris Diamond League meeting. In September, she will be at the Zurich Diamond League meeting and New Balance 5th Avenue Mile. And who else is in Paris with Coburn right now? New Balance teammate Jenny Simpson, the first U.S. woman to medal in the 1,500, who left with the bronze medal as well.
The Olympics may be over, but your favorite athletes are still going strong. With a slew of USA Track & Field events on tap and upcoming IAAF Diamond League meets planned, there are still plenty of opportunities to cheer on Team USA athletes as they continue their season.
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With so many options, you can easily find a favorite event.
We of course love our distance runners. But track and field has SO MANY events, from sprints, to middle distance, to the shot put—you are guaranteed to find a favorite (or two, or three, or four…). Sure you will enjoy watching some more than others, and that is okay. But taking the time to learn about each event, the stamina and strength required and the top athletes? You may find a new distance to run or event to take on, yourself!
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You can start getting excited for Tokyo in 2020.
New athletes are coming onto the scene every year and signing with top brands like New Balance, Oiselle and more. Keep an eye on what is going on in track and field in the coming years, because you are bound to see some of Tokyo’s rising stars coming into the sport in the next year or two.
The Olympics are only one part of your favorite athletes’ stories.
As Phoebe Wright, an 800-meter runner who missed the team at the Olympic Trials, accurately describes in a recent post, the Olympic Dream is only one part of the whole story behind these athletes. What we see on television and what they go through to get on that stage to provide us with every-four-years entertainment can be drastically different and under-celebrated. The other events they compete in, the photos they share on social media of their training, the Tweets they send out to support to another—all of those things prepare them to once again on the biggest international stage in four years.