First things first. Here is what Track Title Belt is not. TTB is in no way affiliated with the IAAF, USATF, the Olympics, or any other governing  body of athletics. There’s no physical belt and no one actually recognizes its legitimacy outside of its creator.

What it is is a way for fans to follow Track and Field that focuses on the head-to-head matchups that occur throughout the season, not just one or two meets at the end of the season. The idea was born out of my realization that there are storylines to every race that are missed by fervent and casual fans alike. The reason for this unfortunate fact is that each year (unless it’s a year with no World Championships or Olympics) there is a single event that carries all of the weight, so everything up until that point just seems meaningless.

I’ve heard various offered plans for how to make the sport more appealing to the casual viewer, and often those plans are based off of an existing sport’s successful model. This exercise is no different, but I believe it is the first put forward that sees the solution in the sports of boxing and professional wrestling: you are at the top until a challenger can beat you. Debate about who is best all you want, but until the champ loses, they are the champ. The Nature Boy said it best: “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!”

In a nutshell, there are 72 title belts up for grabs: 18 World belts for men, 18 World belts for women, 18 US belts for men, 18 US belts for women. Each belt represents an event in track: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, 100 hurdles (or 110), 400 hurdles, 3000m steeplechase, long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin, and decathlon/heptathlon.

The inaugural title holders were set based on the Eugene World Championships of 2022 for the World belts. Likewise, the the US belts were set based on the top performing American athlete at those championships OR the USATF 2022 Championships. From that point forward, belts only change hands based on being outran, out jumped, or out thrown by a competitor in an event. 

This track season, this blog will let you know the stories going into meets where belts may be up for grabs, and follow up with which changed hands. At any given time, fans will know which athlete is at the top of his or her respective event.

My plan is to provide a new way to follow the sport, discuss the relevancy of the regular season, and craft a compelling story. Thanks for coming along for the journey.

-TTB