Top sprinters including Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson and Julien Alfred are skipping the World Indoor Championships, and the reasons go beyond just competition.
The World Indoor Championships have traditionally been a prestigious platform for athletes to showcase their talents and make a name for themselves.
However, the 2025 edition of the global indoor championships in Nanjing, China, seems to have failed to live up to the billing even before starting.
Top athletes like defending champions Julien Alfred and Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Keely Hodgkinson and Ferdinand Omanyala have opted not to compete there raising eyebrows.
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Kishane Thompson, Tia Clayton and Dina Asher-Smith had also been confirmed but chose to withdraw from the event last minute, sparking more discussions around their bold decisions.
Some might have withdrawn due to injuries and personal reasons and Pulse Sports Kenya will explore the top 5 reasons why the big-name athletes have decided not to take part in the 2025 World Indoor Championships.
5 reasons Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson & Julien Alfred are snubbing World Indoor Championships
1) Focus on the outdoor season
The 2025 track and field season is a long one and athletes have to plan strategically to avoid burnout before reaching the end successfully.
The World Outdoor Championships scheduled for September are what many elite athletes are focusing on. For instance, Noah Lyles is the defending champion in the 100m and 200m and he hopes to defend his titles.
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5 reasons Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson & Julien Alfred are snubbing World Indoor Championships. Image source: Imago
Now that he has a long season, he might have opted out of the indoor races to maintain focus on what is at stake since his title defence holds paramount importance.
On her part, Julien Alfred who claimed the gold medal in the women’s 100m at the Paris Olympic Games will be hoping to extend the same streak to the World Championships and might have decided to skip the world indoors intentionally.
Kishane Thompson is always exposed to injuries and the Jamaican might have opted to skip the world indoors to avoid any unnecessary setbacks as he gears up for the World Outdoor Championships in Tokyo, Japan later this year.
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2) Financial incentives are greater outdoors
Track and field is not among the most lucrative sports in the world and athletes are always forced to venture into other practices to earn a substantial income.
Comparing the prize money an athlete is bound to make at the World Indoor Championships to any outdoor race has a huge difference.
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5 reasons Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson & Julien Alfred are snubbing World Indoor Championships. Image source: Imago
It is important to note that sponsorship bonuses are often higher for outdoor competitions like the Grand Slam Track and Diamond League Meetings.
With a focus on the prize money, top athletes like Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred and Kishane Thompson might have seen it wise to skip the World Indoor showpiece.
This is because the business side of track and field is very important when it comes to shaping an athlete’s competition schedule. In this case, for Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson, and Julien Alfred, the World Indoors might not be worth the effort when bigger paydays lie ahead.
3) Travel time to China
The location of the World Indoor Championships might have also influenced the decisions by Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred and Kishane Thompson among other elite athletes.
The Indoor Championships will be happening in Nanjing, China, which presents a logistical challenge for many athletes.
Athletes will opt to compete in local races or wait for the outdoor season due to the long travel time, combined with adjusting to a different time zone. This can adversely affect how an athlete performs.
For instance, for someone like Noah Lyles, travelling from the US to China could take him about 14 to 20 hours.
Athletes from Jamaica like Kishane Thompson might have to endure 18 to 24 hours of travel, often with layovers just for one race that might not turn out as expected.
4) Unfavourability of back-to-back championships
Most of the athletes including Jakob Ingebrigtsen have just finished their campaigns at the European Indoor Championships and heading to the World Indoor Championships immediately does not favour their bodies.
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5 reasons Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson & Julien Alfred are snubbing World Indoor Championships. Image source: Imago
Most of those athletes have already competed in a major indoor showpiece and would not want to put a lot of pressure on themselves as they gear up for the outdoor season.
Competing in major competitions back-to-back would affect them physically and mentally and even though Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson and Julien Alfred are not European, the general trend among elite sprinters is to avoid excessive indoor races.
5) World Indoors lack major outdoor qualification incentives
For a lot of athletes, the World Indoor Championships are just a competition like any other and do not impact their careers greatly when heading outdoors.
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Some outdoor competitions offer direct qualification spots and improve the rankings of athletes as they prepare for the major outdoor events and in this case, the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan later this year.
For Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred and Kishane Thompson, skipping the indoor showpiece has not major consequences. They see little reason to disrupt their outdoor preparation for an event that does not significantly impact their main goals.
