Our pop-up at Merci is winding down, but one of our favorite activities is still to come - poster stamping. This evening, thousands of runners will race the “people’s marathon“ through the streets of Paris. Tomorrow, we’ll start stamping posters to commemorate the effort and mark one of the most unique events for runners around the world. Hand-stamping the finishing time on a commemorative poster is a Tracksmith tradition that dates back a decade, and is one of the most rewarding experiences for our staff as they get to interact with the runners and hear their race day stories. 

Dave Wottle produced one of the most memorable kicks in history, moving from last place to first to win gold in 1972. And he did it wearing a white cord hat. Tracksmith’s Nick Willis sat down with Dave to learn more about his journey to the top and his decision (or lack thereof) to race in the now-famous hat. Our just-launched Wottle Cord Hat honors its namesake with details that nod to the original. 

In June of 2014, we took three athletes to a remote cabin in New Hampshire for the very first Tracksmith photo shoot. We affectionately called it Camp Tracksmith. But it was another year until we really leaned into the “camp” idea, taking 6 women and 6 men to Mount Moosilauke for a pre-season training camp (complete with Camp Tracksmith tees and tanks.) Last month, we returned to the Camp Tracksmith concept, and again to New Hampshire, to shoot the first drop of our fall collection. Two athletes on the shoot - Ruben Sanca and Lyndsay Harper - were amongst the first men and women we shot at Tracksmith. So to have them there, 10 years later, was really special. Stay tuned for our first Camp Tracksmith themed Fall drop later this month.

Merci, Paris
The track & field in Paris has been electric. I particularly enjoyed both steeplechase races (my former collegiate event). The home crowd erupted on the last lap of the women’s race as Alice Finot tried to chase down a medal. She came up short, but ran 8:58 for a National and European Record in a race that Winfred Yavi ran brilliantly for an Olympic Record. And what can you say about Kenneth Rooks that hasn’t already been said? In a race with the best (El Bakkali) and the world record holder (Girma), he stormed to the lead with 300m to go and held it through the last water jump. El Bakkali got the win, but Rooks had many of us Americans out of our seats, shouting at the TV. If you want to feel all of your feelings, nothing beats live sports. 

A Second Chance
The drama of live sports is what makes it so riveting - the comebacks, the photo finishes, the hard falls, the records. With the ‘repechage rounds’ being introduced to some track and field events at the Games, athletes have had a second chance to advance to the semi-finals by competing in additional qualifying heats. It’s added a layer of intrigue for sure, but I think the jury is still out, at least amongst athletes and journalists. Our ASP athlete, Freddie Crittenden, was the first athlete to take advantage of the repechage round, jogging the first heat of the 110m hurdles to give his body an extra day to recover from a nagging injury. The other “unique” repechage performance came from Ethiopian Birke Haylom in the 1500m. She went out in 2:02 through 800m - faster than world record pace and way ahead of the rest of the field - only to have the field pull her back in over the last 200m. She still won her heat and advanced to the semi-finals, but the 3:53 runner ran 4:03 for 10th in her semi-final heat, and you have to wonder if her repechage tactics took the run out of her legs a round too early.

A Second Chance!?
Regardless of your take on the repechage round, it is reassuring for some athletes to know they might get a second chance. But what won’t be reassuring for athletes is a recent report that claims the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) caught athletes who were doping, but allowed them to keep competing in exchange for information. There has long been speculation about “shadow bans” and this will only fuel it. For a more nuanced perspective, Ross Tucker of The Science of Sport podcast recently sat down with Kara Goucher to discuss the dilemma fans face: how do we celebrate these performances while knowing doping exists in our sport? One thing is almost certain: some 4th place finisher in Paris was denied their medal ceremony moment by an athlete who will later be banned for doping.