Does an undefeated season really need defending? Well, as a Lap Count reader, you’re clearly a high-minded connoisseur of the sport. You float above the fracas of knee-jerk takes and instead scratch your chin wisely when contemplating the goings on in the world of athletics. “Is this good for the sport?” is your weekly mantra.

Our newsletter has historically and unambiguously endorsed pro-racing takes week in and week out: “WE BELIEVE PURE RACING TRUMPS TIME TRIALS. THE DL FINAL SHOULD PRECEDE THE GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP. THE SPORT IS MORE INTERESTING WHEN IT’S NOT PREDICTABLE.”

A common theme of all sports is rooting for the upset. We generally are pro-David in the fight against Goliath – except, of course, when the Goliath in question is your home team. And the best outcome of all is a months- or years-long rivalry that ends up looking like a coin toss each time out.

But then again, Mondo Duplantis and Faith Kipyegon still have plenty of fans – in Sweden, Kenya, Louisiana, and beyond. While there are plenty of us who like to root for the underdog, there are just as many fans out there who are drawn to the inevitable pull of the… uh… overdog.

Frankly, we get it. It’s fun to be a part of something – even if that’s as simple as belonging to a fanbase – that’s basically guaranteed to be successful. How many Mondoheads turned up in Paris nervous over what medal their hero would exit the stadium with? None! Those lucky souls got to sit back and yuck it up while Duplantis repeatedly soared over the bar and set yet another world record en route to Olympic gold. That doesn’t sound stressful. That sounds like a party.

If you’re a Valarie Allman fan, or a Tara Davis-Woodhall diehard, or a Jordan Díaz stan, 2024 was a very good year. You could reliably tune into whichever meet they were contesting and simply take in the spectacle of an athlete at the top of their game without sweating the outcome – you already knew what it would be.

But even if you’re like us – occasionally self-righteous nerds who love the drama of an insurgent victory that nobody saw coming (and also love that such moments provide wonderful fodder for our newsletter) – you’ve gotta admit there is something a little enjoyable about witnessing totally expected total dominance. In a vacuum, a basically predetermined outcome in a race or field event isn’t always appointment viewing, but at a macro level there is something to be said for being there when an athlete was at the peak of their powers, doing the sorts of things that fans of the sport will be talking about decades into the future. As a few of the aforementioned win streaks start to reach Joe DiMaggio levels of improbability (looking at you, Faith), each successive win starts to write a new history all its own.

We’re still firmly in the “upsets are good for the sport” camp, but we’re happy to reach across the aisle and shake hands with any fan who prefers to be able to say “I was there” during a performer’s period of transcendent greatness. And we were very fortunate to witness so many GOATs – both indisputable and up-for-debate – firing an all cylinders during the 2024 campaign.

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