Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Noah Lyles are not going to miss the podium in their disciplines at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships. But god forbid, if anything happens to them, a comeback would be next to impossible. Let’s assume for a moment that if they pick an injury, have a fever, some kind of sickness, or anything that might hamper their chances of finishing in the top three of their heats. They will only have one option.

They will have to push through. The problem is, if injured, pushing through risks makes it worse. So even if they win, the chances of the semifinals drop. Plus, in Paris, they had a relief, one that is now taken away from the 2025 World Championships.

Track and Field Gazette took to its official X handle to announce, “Here is the COMPLETE schedule for the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships (Sept. 13–21). 🇯🇵🗓 ❌ No repechage rounds this year.” So, an extra chance for all the athletes to qualify for the semifinals of their respective events is now gone. Because “repechage” (a French word) means to fish out or to rescue, and it did exactly that.

It was kind of a rescue mission for the athletes who couldn’t qualify directly from the initial heats: Another opportunity to advance to the semifinals. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, this format was introduced for events including the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, and all hurdle events. But with this update, it’s either do or die for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, Naser, and all other athletes. Now, if you wonder how useful this extra race was, look at U.S. hurdler Freddie Crittenden.

Crittenden relied on the repechage round after a groin issue slowed him in the heats, later calling it a lifeline. He finished 8th in the heats of the 100mH at the Paris Olympics with a time of 18.27. “If I had really gone for it, I could have crashed out, I could have really hurt myself even worse, o the plan was just to maintain my health, give my best, and try to make it to the next round,” he shared. The athlete was feeling some pain in his adductor muscle. His plan?

“The plan was just get through the round, as long as I didn’t get disqualified or hit any hurdles, then I can get through and run in the repechage round in two days,” he said.  In the repechage, he clocked 13.42 seconds and marked a comfortable win in the round, and qualified for the semifinals (13.23s -2nd). The strategy worked out so well that he even was in the finals, finishing 6th with 13.32s on the clock. But while it turned out to be useful for him, many had criticized it as well.

Noah Lyles’ compatriot and others criticized the rule

The repechage system at Paris 2024 faced sharp criticism from athletes and insiders who found it punishing and poorly thought out.

U.S. 800m runner Brandon Miller had mixed feelings about the new repechage format. “When I didn’t make it through the heats, I was given a second chance—I needed that. I can’t be mad at it,” Miller said. In his initial heat, he finished 8th with a time of 1:46.34, which did not qualify him directly for the semifinals.

However, he secured his spot in the next round by winning his repechage heat with a time of 1:44.21. However, after advancing to the semifinal, he realized he had an additional race in his legs, compared to most of his competitors.

Now with an extra race in front of him, Miller confessed, “It’s tough to come here expecting to run three days and then have to run four. But those were the cards I was dealt, so I have to play them.” In the semifinal, Miller placed 5th with a time of 1:45.79, not enough to make the finals.

Lithuanian runner Gabija Galvydyte said the turnaround was brutal. “I raced at 8:30 pm… then had to wake up early for the repechage… there wasn’t enough time to recover.” In heat 1 of the 800m, she finished 4th in her heat with a personal best of 1:59.18, which qualified her for the repechage round. In the repechage, she placed 4th again, with a time of 2:00.66, and did not advance to the semifinals.

Jamaican agent Claude Bryan was even harsher, dismissing the format as “a dumb concept devoid of prudence” and questioning whether athletes were consulted at all.

So, as the controversy and talks go on, do you have any particular thoughts on the same? Share them with us…