Load management unavoidable for most track and field athletes on road to worlds

This is a column by Morgan Campbell, who writes opinion for CBC Sports.  For more information about  CBC's Opinion section , please see the  FAQ .

Last Sunday morning in Silesia, Poland, Sha'Carri Richardson, the American sprint sensation, strode past Jamaican star Shericka Jackson to win the women's 100 metres at last week's Diamond League event.

Jackson ran 10.78 seconds, a stride-and-a-half slower than the world-leading 10.65 she ran to at the Jamaican national championships in early July, but still fast enough to win most high-level races. Except Richardson, fresh off a U.S. championships that saw her qualify for worlds in two events — the 100 and the 200 — refused to let Jackson's blazing speed rattle her. Richardson gave ground early, then calmly walked Jackson down over the race's final stages to win in 10.76.

WATCH | Richardson takes down Jackson for 2nd time this year | Athletics North:

As co-headliners, Richardson and Jackson delivered — but wasn't this race supposed to be a three-way showdown that included Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast?

Yes, initially. But Ta Lou, whose 10.75 season's best ranks third in the world this season, withdrew from the race.

Similar story on the men's side, where Akani Simbine of South Africa upset American standout Fred Kerley to win a 100-metre dash that was originally scheduled to include Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champion. It was an entertaining race — with Simbine grabbing a lead and holding off a hard-charging Kerley — but not the one most ticket-buyers paid to see.

Here, it helps to remember that all of these athletes are professionals, and to assume they have valid reasons to miss races. Travel, training and competing all ask a lot of an