“Other than that, I think I would have had that 38 on Sydney [McLaughlin-Levrone].” That bold statement came from none other than Jasmine Robinson — one of the most electrifying young stars in high school track and field — speaking in mid-April after a pair of eye-catching performances. She had just taken the top podium in the girls’ 300m hurdles at the North Cobb Invitational and secured a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational. But what really turned heads wasn’t just her times — it was her talk.

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Robinson claimed she was within striking distance of breaking Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s national record in the 300m hurdles: 38.90 seconds. That’s the same Sydney who owns two Olympic gold medals and the world record in the 400m hurdles. A legend. A household name. A force of nature on the track. And yet, here’s a young, untested Jasmine, with no international experience, tossing her name into the same sentence as Sydney’s. And guess what? It didn’t sit right with everyone.

Olympic champion Justin Gatlin took notice, and not without skepticism. On a recent episode of the Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin expressed concern, not just about Jasmine’s comment, but about a broader trend in the sport.

Phenoms with little experience, throwing down bold claims, sometimes before they’ve even faced the fire of elite competition. “Do you think it’s a good step in the right direction? Or do you think it’s making athletes at a younger age think that it’s easy, and then when they get into the big leagues, they’re going to see a whole different ball game?” Gatlin pondered, meanwhile.

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Enter Rodney Green, co-host on the podcast, who offered a more nuanced perspective. For Rodney, it’s all part of what he calls “Track Inflation.” A new wave where young athletes — hungry and fearless — are pushing boundaries, sometimes even before fully understanding the weight of the records they chase.

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“That’s why these kids are so fast,” Rodney said. “I said, I’m not worried about the kids running fast at this point, man, because when you’re young and hungry, you’re trying to beat the biggest dudes on the track.” Additionally, he pointed out that while the drive and motivation are exciting, they can lead to unrealistic expectations. Take Gout Gout, another breakout name in youth track — all talent, all hype, but also all pressure.

Meanwhile, speaking about the pressure on Gout, Rodney said, “Everybody’s seen [Usain] Bolt’s success, but he lost a lot in the beginning of his professional career. We could even say Gout-Gout. The country is behind him right now. What happens when he starts to lose? Will the country still rally behind him? How are these kids going to handle the pressures of when the battle of the pen or the journalist turns on them?”

It was a heavy question — and one Justin Gatlin didn’t have an answer for. However, the American legend had no lack of support for Sydney, and this wasn’t the only time he was supporting the hurdler.

Justin Gatlin supported Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s key decision

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Last year, after securing two Olympic gold medals, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made headlines not only for her dominance on the track but for what she did next. Rather than extending her season, she chose to step away early, skipping the Silesia Diamond League meet. That decision only fueled speculation and whispers in the track world, with fans and critics alike questioning her motives. But not everyone was caught up in the noise.

On a Ready Set Go podcast episode last September, Justin Gatlin stepped in to defend Sydney’s choice — and offered some perspective. “You gonna get bored of that Sydney winning everything,” Gatlin said, speaking with the candor of someone who’s been at the top.

“Sydney wins every race. You gonna get bored of it to the point where her time is not even gonna affect you anymore. You’re gonna be like, oh, she just ran 51.8? You know what I’m saying?” For Gatlin, the issue wasn’t about whether Sydney was competing enough — it was about giving her the space to be exceptional on her own terms.

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“At the end of the day,” he added, “allow her to be special and unique. Allow her to go out. She clearly trains with the intent to go out and break a world record — and move the needle in her event to where it’s never been before.” Actually, in Gatlin’s eyes, Sydney isn’t just winning — she’s redefining excellence. And maybe, just maybe, greatness deserves a little breathing room.

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Alica Schmidt is busy training for the summer outdoor track season.

Last summer, Schmidt made her Olympic debut in Paris, running with Germany’s 4×400 team. This winter, she ran the 800m indoor for the first time ever and also participated in the 4×200 relay at the German Nationals.

“First 800m at nationals are in the books!” Schmidt wrote back in February. “It didn’t go as planned, and the final was a very tough race for me. Overall I became 4th and I’m not satisfied with that but it‘s just the beginning.

I knew before my indoor season that my first races wouldn’t be easy and there’s a lot to learn especially tactically. Still, racing the 800m now already was the best decision to improve for the summer!

“But I‘m happy to take away silver with the girls over the 4x200m relay ❤️‍🔥 always the best to race with your team 🙋🏼‍♀️.”

Alica Schmidt giving a thumbs-up after a race.

Germany’s Alica Schmidt poses for a photo after the Women’s 4x400m Heats on day five of the 26th European Athletics Championships – Rome 2024 at Stadio Olimpico on June 11, 2024 in Rome, Italy.

For the last few weeks, the 26-year-old athlete has been working out preparing for the outdoor slate, and she’s provided her fans with some glimpses into her routine.

In Schmidt’s latest video, shared on Instagram Tuesday, she takes her followers through her sprint training program, explaining the methods behind her workouts and including footage of her running.

As always, Schmidt’s fans on IG are enjoying the content.

“Looks pretty fast to me,” one woman wrote in German.

“Watched your video and made me want to get outside and run! Keep up the good work!” another person said.

“How do you stay away from injury? I’m getting injured all the time as a distance runner,” a third person asked.

“Love this type of content!” a fourth person wrote.

“The training was fantastic miss,” another person said.

Alica Schmidt on Instagram.

We’re looking forward to seeing how Schmidt performs when her outdoor competitions get going.

In the meantime, if you’d like to follow her on Instagram, click here.

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Gabby Thomas shares her engagement joy with Spencer McManes, balancing love and elite track goals ahead of LA 2028.

Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas has opened up about her engagement to longtime partner Spencer McManes.

Thomas, who was one of Team USA’s standout performers at the 2024 Paris Olympics, shared how McManes proposed in a moment that took her completely by surprise.

“I was very surprised, and I normally nothing gets by me, but this one did, and so I was very excited,” Thomas said during a conversation with Tiara Williams ahead of her competition at the Grand Slam Track meet in Jamaica.

McManes, a former collegiate athlete himself, has been a constant presence at Thomas’s meets, often spotted proudly wearing a “Team Gabby” shirt, including during her golden runs in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x200m relays at the Paris Games.

“I know there’s so many decisions to make, it’s a lot, but you know, my fiancé, he supports me so much and I love him so much. I go out to every meet. I know everyone sees him around all the time. So not much will change, we’ll just be committed and learn and it’s a very good feeling. I love it,” she added.

The proposal took place at a Travis Heights Airbnb, as reported by Vogue Weddings, with the couple opting for a low-key celebration.

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‘I Would Rob a Bank for Jose’ – Benni McCarthy on How Mourinho Helped Him Heal from a Painful Past

The engagement comes during a high point in Thomas’s career. After her Olympic success, she continued her winning streak with a victory in the 4x100m relay at the Texas Relays in early 2025 and recently captured the long sprints title at the debut edition of the Grand Slam Track meet.

Thomas also competed in both the 200m and 400m events at the GST meet in Jamaica, securing a win in the 200m and a runner-up finish in the 400m — further proof of her versatility and dominance on the track.

Following her silver medal in the 200m and gold in the 4x100m relay at the 2023 World Championships, she has set her focus on the 2025 Tokyo World Championships and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

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Harambee Stars Coach Benni McCarthy Snubbed as South African Tactician Gets Nod for Orlando Pirates Job

“I am definitely training for LA 2028, and it takes me about four years to mentally prepare for that. But physically, I don’t start until about eight months out and now I’m training for World Championships in 2025,” she explained.

The two originally connected in 2021 through social media after Thomas noticed a pizza-themed Instagram highlight on McManes’ profile — a quirky start that blossomed into a strong and supportive relationship.

Ten world record-holders and 23 reigning global individual champions lead the star-studded fields for the first Wanda Diamond League meeting of the year in Xiamen on Saturday (26).

Mondo Duplantis, Grant Holloway, Faith Kipyegon, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Gudaf Tsegay are among the athletes who will be looking to kick off their campaigns in style when they head to the Egret Stadium in the Chinese city.

Duplantis returns to the scene of the eighth of his now 11 world pole vault records. The Swedish 25-year-old, who on Monday was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, cleared 6.24m in Xiamen last year and went on to set another world record of 6.25m in Paris, where he retained his Olympic title.

He has achieved another two world records since – 6.26m in Silesia later in August and 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand in February. The meeting in Xiamen will be his outdoor season opener as Duplantis competes for the first time since winning his third consecutive world indoor title in Nanjing last month. Emmanouil Karalis of Greece improved his national record to 6.05m to secure silver and is also in action this weekend, along with world silver medallist Ernest John Obiena and two-time world champion Sam Kendricks.

Competition is set to be fierce in the women’s high jump. Ukraine’s Mahuchikh improved the world record to 2.10m in Paris last year and went on to claim Olympic gold, but she was third behind Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson at last month’s World Indoor Championships. Those three athletes clash again in Xiamen, with the field also featuring Mahuchikh’s compatriot Yuliya Levchenko.

Five women who have surpassed 70 metres will renew their rivalry in the women’s discus. Leading the field is USA’s Olympic champion Valarie Allman, who improved the North American record to 73.52m in Ramona earlier this month. She faces world champion Laulauga Tausaga, multiple global gold medallist Sandra Elkasevic, Yaime Perez and Jorinde van Klinken, as well as Olympic silver medallist Feng Bin, competing on home soil.

The women’s shot put also offers a top-class battle, as USA’s two-time world champion Chase Jackson faces Canada’s two-time world indoor champion Sarah Mitton, Olympic silver medallist Maddi Wesche, two-time world medallist Jessica Schilder and home favourites Gong Lijiao and Song Jiayuan.

Season debuts for Kipyegon and Warholm

Kenya’s Kipyegon claimed her third Olympic 1500m title in Paris last year and in Xiamen she will make her 2025 debut by dropping down to the 1000m. The 31-year-old holds world records in the 1500m and the mile, and she sits second on the world all-time list for the 1000m following her 2:29.15 run in Monaco in 2020 – that performance just 0.17 shy of Svetlana Masterkova’s world record set in 1996.

The Xiamen 1000m will be Kipyegon’s first race since the Athlos meeting in September last year. Earlier that month she won her fifth Diamond League title at the final in Brussels.

She will be joined in Xiamen by athletes including Ethiopia’s world U20 champion Saron Berhe and Olympic 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma, plus Australia’s Abbey Caldwell, Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi and Benin’s Noelie Yarigo.

The women’s 5000m will feature a clash of global champions – both of them world record-holders. Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet achieved an Olympic 5000m and 10,000m title double in Paris and is the world record-holder in the longer distance as well as for 5km on the roads, while Ethiopia’s Tsegay is the world 5000m record-holder who more recently won the world indoor 1500m title in a championship record in Nanjing.

Their head-to-head record in 5000m track finals stands at 3-2 in Tsegay’s favour and in Xiamen they will clash for the first time since last year’s Olympic Games. Among those joining them on the start line are Ethiopia’s two-time world indoor champion Freweyni Hailu, Birke Haylom and world U20 steeplechase champion Sembo Almayew, making her 5000m debut.

Following its introduction as an official event, the meeting will feature the 300m hurdles with world 400m hurdles record-holder Karsten Warholm using the race to open his season. The Norwegian three-time world champion has held the world 300m hurdles best of 33.26 since 2021 and the race will close the competition in Xiamen, where he will go up against Kyron McMaster and CJ Allen.

The women’s 100m hurdles pits world indoor 60m hurdles champion and world record-holder Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas against world 100m hurdles record-holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, Jamaica’s two-time world champion Danielle Williams, USA’s early world leader Grace Stark and home star Wu Yanni.

In the men’s 110m hurdles, USA’s Olympic and three-time world champion Holloway will want to return to winning ways after finishing second in Gainesville last weekend following his third world indoor 60m hurdles title triumph in Nanjing. His competition includes his compatriots Cordell Tinch, Freddie Crittenden and Olympic silver medallist Daniel Roberts.

Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson continues her comeback in the 200m. The two-time world champion last raced the distance in Szekesfehervar in July but pulled up injured and did not run at the Olympic Games. She clocked 36.13 for 300m earlier this month after opening her year with two 60m races and in Xiamen she will face world indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji, Jenna Prandini and Tamara Clark.

The entry list for the men’s 100m stars Botswana’s Olympic 200m gold and 100m silver medallist Letsile Tebogo as well as all three world indoor 60m medallists – champion Jeremiah Azu, Lachlan Kennedy and Akani Simbine – plus Christian Coleman and Ferdinand Omanyala.

The men’s 400m features USA’s world indoor champion Christopher Bailey, Olympic and world gold medallist Kirani James and Bayapo Ndori, while Morocco’s multiple Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali goes in the 3000m steeplechase – his first race since last year’s Diamond League final.

World indoor medallists Wayne Pinnock and Liam Adcock are in long jump action, while the non-Diamond League triple jump includes Hugues Fabrice Zango and the javelin features Olympic silver medallist Jo-Ane van Dyk.