October 2020, editor's letter
During uncertain times we tend to look for constants – things we can depend on.
For many, sport is one of those things.
Whether you’re a competitor or a fan, having something so personal and important to you taken away – as has happened for swathes of this year – can hurt deeply.
For those at the elite level it’s a job as well as a lifestyle, of course, and if it was already hard enough to make a decent living from athletics, then the challenges of 2020 made it a whole lot harder.
Further down the chain, as Paula Radcliffe points out in our relaunch October magazine, club athletes are being denied their competitive release while youngsters have lost – and are losing – vital development time and opportunities.
Yet here we are at the end of the summer and, despite everything and a shortened outdoor season which has passed by all too quickly, there have been some incredible performances to watch and enjoy across all the disciplines.
Karsten Warholm seemed to set the tone during the Impossible Games way back in June with the exaggerated, expressive opening strides he made on his way to a 300m hurdles world record in Oslo. The packaging may have changed this year but if the show was to go on then the athletes had to put on a show – and many of them have done just that.
As you will have noticed, the packaging has also changed at AW, and we are delighted to have been able to write about and pick over the sport of athletics to present you, our readers, with a magazine once again, as well as a digital Athletics Weekly newsletter. It was with heavy hearts that, at the end of March, the print production of AW had to be halted but we are back – now under new ownership, with a new offering and a fresh look.
The overall aim – via our digital channels as well as print – has not changed, though.
Since 1945, the magazine has celebrated and showcased athletics, told its stories and highlighted its personalities, and we plan to continue down that road with a sport which has shown remarkable resilience and innovation in recent months.
On behalf of the AW team, thank you for continuing on the journey with us.
- Euan Crumley, Editorial Director
- Jason Henderson, Editor
