USA Track & Field, the governing federation of the sport, has a new president: Vin Lananna, who won the election by acclamation after his only opponent, Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, withdrew her bid for the position on Thursday.
USATF is Health - Injuries in Orlando, Florida, this week. The voting for president, which is an unpaid, volunteer position, was supposed to take place on Saturday. Because Lananna was the only candidate still on the ballot, he was named president on Thursday evening.
In his full-time job, Lananna will remain the president of TrackTown USA, a nonprofit organization in Eugene, Oregon, that has organized the 2014 world junior championships, the 2015 USATF outdoor championships, the 2016 world indoor championships, and the 2016 Olympic track and field trials. It is also responsible for the 2021 world outdoor championships to be held at Hayward Field. In addition, he is an associate athletic director for the University of Oregon, where he was the head track and field coach until he stepped down in 2012.
The news of his new role of USATF’s president received a warm reception on social media on Thursday from many elite athletes and other leaders of the sport, including Peter Ciaccia, president of New York Road Runners, Deena Kastor, A Part of Hearst Digital Media Brenda Martinez, 1500-meter Olympian, among many others. Prior to the meeting, Lananna was also endorsed by pro running groups like the New Jersey-New York Track Club.
But because of his multiple roles within the sport and the demands of his jobs, some have questioned whether Lananna, 63, will be able to give USATF enough attention—and if he would be able to avoid potential conflicts of interest between the organizations that vie for sponsorships and support. The close ties that TrackTown and Oregon have with Nike have been a concern to those who represent other brands.
Lananna has maintained since he announced his candidacy at the Olympic Trials in July that he sees it as an advantage that he is connected to so many stakeholders in the sport. During a phone interview with Runner’s World last week he reiterated the belief that his role as TrackTown president and USATF president will increase the likelihood of success in presenting the world outdoor championships.
“The timing here is right for a bunch of reasons. For me, there’s a line in the sand,” he said. “The world championships are coming to the United States in 2021. It gives us an opportunity to capitalize on a five-year buildup. Right now, more than ever, we just came off a great Olympic Games with 32 medals and I think we need to be prominent in the eyes of the world on a regular basis instead of just every four years. This is the best opportunity to do that.”
Lananna also outlined his immediate goals in the USATF role during the interview. He said that he wants to ensure that each of the 20 different groups within USATF (youth, masters, track, field, ultra, trail, mountain, and long distance, for example) feels their needs are being heard and considered. He also said that elite athlete financial support is a top priority and he wants to improve communication within the governing body—USATF has often been criticized for a lack of transparency in decision making and business practices.
“I’m not convinced that membership is all that disenfranchised—I think there are people who deserve to know how and why decisions get made,” he said. “People want to feel like they’re part of something exciting going in the right direction. I hope I have the leadership qualities to deliver that promise, to do the right things for the right reasons.”
As USATF president, Lananna serves for four years and replaces Stephanie Hightower, whose term has expired. The president presides at the membership meetings, is a non-voting member of all the committees, and appoints committee chair people. Stephen Miller is the board chairman through 2018, serving as the immediate supervisor of Max Siegel, USTAF’s CEO, and making sure the policies set by the 15 members of the board are carried out by the paid staff based at USATF's national office in Indianapolis and by the volunteer committees.
