Indoor track is being renamed short track by World Athletics.
The name change, to be formally approved in August, will allow for 200m tracks -- the typical indoor size, contrasted to 400m outdoor tracks -- to also be constructed outdoors and have those results eligible to be recognized as world records.
“With the advent of modern athletics and the development of hybrid competition venues – city squares, shopping malls, train stations – it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the separation between outdoor and indoor athletics,” according to a World Athletics press release. “In some field events, the separation has been eliminated altogether for world record purposes.”
World Athletics President Seb Coe said the change will open “a world of opportunities” for meet organizers.
It “will provide a more affordable option to cities, especially where space is in short supply, while stimulating the growth of the sport through investment in new infrastructure,” Coe said in the release.
Major indoor championships will endure, but in areas with zero or limited indoor facilities, short track meets could be held outdoors with results counting as qualifiers for those indoor championships.
The next world indoor championships are scheduled for Glasgow, Scotland, next March.
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