By Chris Lotsbom, @ChrisLotsbom

 

BOSTON (16-May) -- Two months ago, the adidas Boost Boston Games was just an idea on a word document, concocted by meet director and Global Athletics & Marketing President Mark Wetmore. Today, it is a reality, ready to take over the heart of Downtown Boston. Here today, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joined Wetmore and Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene to introduce the new meet, emphasizing how the event will be a world-class competition in the Massachusetts capital.

 

Wetmore, who has directed meets such as the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston and the former adidas Grand Prix Diamond League meet in New York, has shaped a global competition that will play out over two days in the city. The first day, Friday, June 17, will feature distance events from 800m through the 5000m --including the High School Dream Miles -- at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville. The next day will be the feature presentation, when the sport's top sprint stars compete on a 150 meter Mondo track set up in between Boston Common and Boston Public Garden. Among the elites already signed up to race are Olympic silver medalist Yohan Blake. 

 

Taking a few moments to discuss the meet and the behind-the-scenes aspects, Wetmore described how the idea came to fruition and how the meet will be focused on the fans, while at the same time assisting athletes in their preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. This, he believes, is key to the future of our sport.

 

 

Q: Was there any meet that inspired you to create the adidas Boost Boston Games?

 

Mark Wetmore: I've been to the street events that they have in Britain, and I've always felt that those were state of the art for where we are right now, and those were innovative events for when they were brought in a few years ago. They haven't been done in the U.S. before. We put on a women's pole vault in Times Square two years ago and that's what kind of inspired this idea with adidas. We told adidas we wanted to move the event from being a Diamond League event in New York to a street event in Boston and they signed on immediately. That's where the inspiration came from. 

 

Q: You've said the meet has come on pretty quickly. Can you tell us about the process of creating the meet?

 

MW: We were really wondering what the next generation was going to be with the Diamond League. We've enjoyed being part of the Diamond League, but we and adidas wanted to do something different. I presented this idea to them basically at the end of January, without really knowing what I was going to do, and they said sure just go ahead and run with it. We looked at the possibility of doing it in New York, along Fifth Avenue, and we looked at the possibility of doing it up here, and adidas really liked the idea of doing it up here. Literally, it just kind of started and we spoke to Mayor Walsh's office right away and things started moving very, very quickly.

 

Q: Is there a certain demographic you're trying to hit with this meet? 

 

MW: Youth, absolutely. I think that's where we're going, and [also] people who are interested in running. We don't have a lot of stadiums in the U.S. that could host a Diamond-level league event. We're trying to create a stadium almost on the day, which is very difficult to do over a period of time. So we have an event here which is going to have finish area seating, but the rest is going to be completely free and open to the public. Just like it is in Manchester [Great Britain], you can walk up to the side and you'll literally be an arm's length away from Olympic heroes. The pole vault and long jump are going to be on there too, and [the fans] will be able to see all the events here.

 

Q: Will there be ancillary events where fans can mingle with athletes?

 

MW: Yes, there will be on Friday. On Friday we're having an event in Somerville, and after the track events are done there then we are going to have a post-event festival, a barbecue where everybody who comes to that event on Friday will be invited to eat some good food, hang out with the adidas athletes, do selfies. It'll be that kind of atmosphere. [Note: Any race 400 meters or higher will be contested on Friday, June 17 at Dilboy Stadium].

 

Q: Do you think the fields in the adidas Dream High School events will be the equivalent to what they were in New York? 

 

MW: Yes, very much the same. In fact, we have two more kids [in the sprints] so instead of eight we'll have ten. So we'll have heats and finals of the Dream 100m's on a five lane track. So it's going to be semi-finals and finals.

 

Q: When will the fields be announced? 

 

I think the fields will be rolled out as the invitations go out and the confirmations come back. That is handled by adidas... As soon as we know we'll be issuing press releases. 

 

Q: What has the athletes reaction been towards the street meet-style of the adidas Boost Boston Games?

 

MW: Very positive. In an Olympic year, I wasn't sure if athletes were going to say 'Well I don't want to run on the street.' But I've had athletes who want to run the 150 because they think it's perfect prep for the 200m. The really want to run that 150.

 

Q: Was it at all hard to convince athletes to race here at a new meet? 

 

MW: No. They had New York [Diamond League] on the schedule [before it was eliminated] and we're the same day, so it's basically [just] a different airport. 

 

Q: This is believed to be the first street track meet. What are your thoughts on that?

 

MW: We're the first people I believe to ever put a specific elevated high performance track down and inviting elite athletes to come and compete.

 

Q: What does it say about the state of the sport and the future? 

 

MW: I think that's true, that you talk about sponsorship within the sport --people like adidas-- it's a forward thinking way of reaching consumers. 

 

 

A full detailed schedule for the adidas Boost Boston Games can be found atwww.adidasboostboston.com. The meet will be televised live on NBC Sports Network.