Athletes and administrators clash over demanding sporting calendars

From the football bosses seemingly hellbent on creating a year-long product, to a tennis calendar that Carlos Alcaraz this week called impossible, sporting administrators have been accused of roundly abandoning the concept of less is more.

There was also the case a couple of years ago of Chinese table tennis pair Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng withdrawing from the world rankings in protest at the fines being imposed on overworked players for skipping events.

The same seems to be happening in athletics, with the steady uprising of athletes against schedules foisted on them that risk physical and mental burnout, which is why it was strange to hear Jakob Ingebrigtsen accuse Josh Kerr of “ruining” track and field after the brilliant Scottish middle-distance runner opted out of last month’s European Athletics Championships.

Poised for a humdinger of a 1,500m battle with Ingebrigtsen at this week’s inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Kerr said he “felt tired” just thinking about a year that could have included the European Championships and many more Diamond League outings than his single appearance in London.

Kerr’s relative inactivity has contributed to his 1,500m world ranking tumbling to No 84. As such, he required a special exemption to compete in the Ultimate Championships, where race winners will win US$150,000.

“I’ve heard that people are frustrated with the invite [but] I didn’t ask for it,” Kerr said. “I’ll either be in trouble for not going, or I’ll be in trouble for taking an invite I don’t deserve. Just pick your frustrations with me. But I’ll be ready to race.”