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De Grasse, other sprinters sitting out or limiting indoor season after long 2019

Many of the world's top sprinters, including Canada's Andre De Grasse, are skipping or limiting their indoor season, often because the 2019 world outdoor championships extended into October, more than a month later than usual.

Noah Lyles, Dina Asher-Smith, Justin Gatlin not swayed by world championships

Gene Cherry · Thomson Reuters ·
Canada's Andre De Grasse and 2019 world 200-metre champion Noah Lyles of the United States are among the top sprinters either skipping or limiting their indoor race schedule this winter following a 2019 outdoor season that extended into October. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images/File)

Even with outstanding hurdles races at U.S. indoor meetings and talented field event competitions in Europe, international athletics is continuing to be impacted by the long 2019 outdoor season.

Many top sprinters are skipping or limiting their indoor season, often because the 2019 world outdoor championships extended into October, more than a month later than usual, managers and coaches told Reuters.

Even the lure of an indoor world championships in China has not pulled world outdoor champions Noah Lyles (U,S.) and Dina Asher-Smith (Britain) and medallists Justin Gatlin (U.S.), Andre De Grasse (Canada) and Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) to the winter circuit.

World 100-metre champion Christian Coleman may also join them.

"Coleman is still deciding if he will compete," manager Emanuel Hudson said of the world indoor record holder in the 60 and 2019 world 100 gold medallist.

But it was a definite "no way" from Mark Wetmore, manager for U.S. world 200 champion Lyles, who will sit out the indoor season.

'Timing doesn't make a lot of sense'

"Athletes were exceptionally tired after Doha as a class. It was so long," said Wetmore.

Wetmore and Paul Doyle, agent for Canadian Olympic and world double sprint medallist De Grasse, also mentioned the shorter than normal downtime between the world championships and the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held from July 24 to Aug. 9.

WATCH | Andre De Grasse blazes down straightaway to win world silver:

De Grasse claims 200m silver at track and field worlds

5 years ago
Duration 4:54
Canada's Andre De Grasse finishes 2nd in 200 metres, American Noah Lyle wins gold while Canadian Aaron Brown places 6th.
That gap of less than 10 months is much shorter than the nearly one year time frame between the 2015 world championships, which concluded in late August, and the 2016 Olympics, which opened in early August.

"The timing doesn't make a lot of sense," said Lance Brauman, who coaches Lyles and Olympic 400 champion Miller-Uibo.

But no matter how short the break, Caribbean sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Steven Gardiner will be running at least once indoors.

Next big indoor season a ways away

"She will be doing Glasgow," said agent Adrian Laidlaw of Jamaican world 100 champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

The Feb. 15 Glasgow event is part of the seven-meeting World Athletics Indoor Tour.

Bahamian Gardiner's competitions will be even more low key with a couple of 300 races.

"Every year we do this just to see how training is going," said coach Gary Evans.

The cycle for top sprinters running all out indoors is several years away, coach Brauman believes.

"Some will run next year (2021) because it fits their schedule and you have a bigger break between the Games and the next world championships," Brauman said. "But to be honest with you, the next big indoor season for pros won't be until 2022.

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