For track and field, the mere existence of the Olympics is a double-edged sword. Yes, every four years the Games attract millions of curious eyeballs to the sport. But the flipside of that momentary burst in enthusiasm is that the Olympics become the end-all-be-all for both fans and athletes. To miss out on an Olympic team is – in the eyes of many – to fail.

But that outlook disregards the fact that the track and field machine never truly stops churning and many of the most iconic moments in the sport’s history didn’t take place within the Olympic confines. And there’s nothing the fans love more than a revenge tour.

There’s the Diamond League circuit, where fields are often more competitive than those at the Olympics, given the lack of a three-athlete cap per country. There’s World Championships, where you still get to represent your nation, but at-large spots for defending champs also mean the fields are stronger. (Winning a World title is in some ways more impressive than winning an Olympic one!) There’s a ton of high-quality domestic and international meets happening all the time. And next year we’ll add Grand Slam Track to the slate of track happenings.

This is all to say that we here at The Lap Count hope any non-Paris-bound athletes know that financial implications and annoying coworker questions aside, all they’re truly missing is the fleeting adoration of casuals, the possibility of being turned into an NBC human interest piece, and the presence of tear jerking commercials advertising multinational companies like Visa and Coca Cola. 

We hope many of you will take a week to lick your wounds then continue onto the summer circuit.

There are the athletes who came agonizingly close to an Olympic berth, but an injury-truncated build up likely prevented them from doing so. (In Sinclaire Johnson’s case, that fourth place finish came along with a three-second PB – how’s that for momentum?) For athletes who fall into this camp, there’s faster racing ahead with another month or so of workouts and sharpening!

There are those who took a tumble and need a taste of redemption. For a generational talent like Athing Mu, there’s a real chance to reclaim some joy in racing after a devastating fall and similarly injury-marred spring. There are athletes who just had an off week – the Cooper Teares or Laulauga Tausaga-Collinses. Maybe they mistimed a peak, or were competing on an undisclosed injury. But if the body is able and the mind willing, rather than slink out of 2024 on a sour note, take a moment to reset then string together a few solid performances heading into 2025.