News of a World Treadmill Championships being in the works has been slammed by many on social media.
Athletics has attempted to diversify and bolster it’s world championships in recent years with the introduction of indoor rowing and cycling major events.
The Indoor Cycling World Championships has been held for decades, but the rowing event was created back in 2018.
Now it appears as though indoor running is set to join the trend of gym apparatus being turned into a world championship event.
There might be a World Treadmill Championships in the future
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World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon has revealed plans to convert the popularity of the treadmill into a global event.
“There are millions of people around the world that just go to the gym and run on the treadmill,” Ridgeon told the Daily Mail.
“We should create products for those people. We should have a Treadmill World Championships.
“You are an athlete if you go for a 30-minute run on a treadmill or if you win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres. It is all athletics.
“We are working it out at the moment. We will be announcing a tech partner that we are going to work with to develop the virtual running scene.”
But the news of a world championship being created for the popular indoor gym equipment hasn’t gone down well on social media.
One user wrote: “Working out on a treadmill is now a sport?”
The event was likened to the Olympic 100m gold medal race
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Another mockingly said: “Next up, break dancing on the treadmill!”
A third joked: “Just checked my Gregorian Calendar to see if it’s April 1.”
One other posted: “Utter woke nonsense.”
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Not many people view running on a treadmill as a sport
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Another message read: “What is this nonsense?”
New Zealand athlete Emma Timmis smashed the record for the longest distance run on a treadmill in 48 hours by reaching an impressive 211 miles.
British runner Jamie McDonald also holds the record for the longest distance covered on a treadmill in one week after completing 524.4 miles.