Is track and field really a dying sport, or has it simply become harder for fans to follow? That question has followed athletics for years. 9x Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis did not hold back in 2016, declaring, “The sport’s dying right now,” while pointing to falling stadium attendance. Nearly a decade later, Noah Lyles voiced similar concerns: “The future of sprinting is hazy right now.” But Masai Russell is not convinced that track and field is in trouble. In her view, the sport is doing better than it gets credit for. But the real problem is that fans simply cannot find a convenient place to watch it.

Russell shared her thoughts during an appearance on Outta Pocket with RG3, hosted by former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin shared a video of the conversation on X on October 29, where Russell offered a different explanation for track and field’s viewership concerns. “I just think it’s a viewership thing. I don’t think it’s track as a dying sport. Track is probably the healthiest it’s ever been in a long time,” Russell said.

There are figures that support at least part of her argument. World Athletics’ 2024 Annual Report showed that its like-for-like revenue increased by 10.5% to $59.8 million. Broadcast and commercial revenue accounted for $44 million, while the organisation ended the year with a cash position of $40 million.

The Diamond League’s 2025 season offered another example of athletics’ international reach. Its official season review reported 15 meetings across 13 countries and four continents, with 1,085 athletes representing 92 countries. Around 400,000 spectators attended its stadium events, while the series was broadcast in 170 countries. The crowds were also there for the sport’s biggest championship.

The 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo attracted 619,288 spectators across nine days, surpassing the 581,462 recorded at the previous Tokyo edition in 1991. The final evening session alone drew 58,723 fans.

Rather than blaming a lack of interest, Russell believes track and field has a discoverability problem. Fans may want to watch their favorite athletes compete, but finding the right broadcast can mean navigating different television networks and streaming subscriptions. “People just gotta know where to find track,” she added.

She also criticised the way media companies handle broadcasting rights, arguing that each outlet wants its own share rather than working towards a more convenient experience for viewers. For Russell, the solution is straightforward: track and field needs a more unified way for fans to watch competitions. She used the Olympics as an example, where viewers know they can turn on NBC and follow the competition.

According to World Athletics, 1.2 billion people tuned in to watch athletics during the Olympics, giving it the biggest broadcast reach of any Olympic sport. More than one million tickets were also sold for athletics events, a record for the sport at an Olympic Games.

“If everyone could come together and you have one place where you could watch track just like you do during the Olympics, turn on NBC or just have it where like how college football is or how college basketball is, even the women in WNBA in LA, you go on TV, you can find it,” Russell explained. “You don’t gotta go to all these different sources to find.” However, Russell’s frustration is not based on theory alone.

She brought up her own experience trying to watch the Diamond League, explaining how changes in broadcasting arrangements can leave even dedicated fans confused. She recalled having a Peacock subscription to watch the Diamond League throughout the season, only to discover that the coverage had moved to FloTrack.

The change was announced on April 10, 2024, when FloSports secured the US broadcasting rights to the Diamond League from the 2025 season.  “The first day when Diamond League went to FloTrack, I have a subscription to Peacock to watch freaking Diamond League. Everyone, we have watched it the whole year and then it comes. I’m like, it’s not showing,” Russell said.

She explained that viewers were then directed to FloTrack if they wanted to continue watching. For a dedicated fan, that might mean paying for another subscription. And that is the problem Russell is getting at. The sport can have world-class athletes, major international meetings and strong championship attendance, but those things matter less if fans cannot easily access the action. 

Interestingly, Russell is not the only prominent figure in athletics who believes the sport needs a better structure rather than simply more attention.

Other track and field stars raise concerns about the sport’s future

Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson also wanted to address the gap between the excitement surrounding track and field during the Olympics and the limited opportunities to watch top athletes compete throughout the rest of the year. When he launched Grand Slam Track in 2025, Johnson insisted that “track doesn’t need saving”. His idea was to bring the world’s leading athletes together for a series of high-profile competitions, create more exciting matchups and give fans a reason to follow the sport beyond the Olympic Games.

The inaugural season was planned to feature four meetings, but the project struggled financially. Only three events took place, with the Los Angeles meeting cancelled in June 2025. Grand Slam Track subsequently filed for bankruptcy in December 2025. The league’s collapse was a major setback for Johnson’s vision, although it does not necessarily mean the idea of a stronger professional circuit was wrong. 

Sprint coach Stuart McMillan offered an even more direct warning in a September 2025 interview with The Guardian. While rejecting the idea that athletics was already a dying sport, he cautioned that its direction was concerning. “It is not a dying sport,” he said. “But the authorities need to treat it as if it is. Because it’s trending in the wrong direction.” McMillan pointed to falling income, fewer sponsors, declining audiences and a shrinking number of competitions.

Noah Lyles has also raised concerns about where professional sprinting is heading. Speaking to The Guardian after winning his fourth consecutive world 200m title at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, the American sprinter admitted that he was uncertain about the sport’s future.

“The future of sprinting is hazy right now. There is so much talent, there is so much room for growth and there are so many new personalities coming up, but I feel the way that the sport is right now, nobody knows which direction to go in,” Lyles said.  For Lyles, athletics needs to do more to promote its athletes, build their personalities and give fans compelling reasons to follow competitions throughout the year.

Taken together, these comments suggest that Russell’s argument is part of a much wider conversation about the future of athletics.