World Athletics Championships in Tokyo - Day 9 (21-09-2025)

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The morning is dedicated to decathlon (apart from the relay re-runs), so there are no Italians. I decide to rest and skip the 110m hurdles and the first discus group and start from the second discus group, if not the pole vault. I also decide to explore the surroundings on foot: I never did this in Budapest, even though the distance was similar (just under 3 km). I arrive around 11.20 a.m. and wonder if the discus is still going on, but I fear not, as the groups are small. I discover that not only is the discus finished, but that group A of the pole vault has already started, as they have anticipated it.

On the side of the second bend and the second half of the back straight (where I am as well), the second deck and the lower half of the third are quite full; in the first deck there are more empty seats, and on the other side there's not many people. Around me there are only (presumably) Japanese spectators, with many Estonians and Germans nearby. Group A consists of 7 athletes, group B of 10. When I arrive, they're at the opening height, 4.70: five attempt it and one doesn't clear it. Also in group B there will be a no measure (the Estonian Tilga, who's already on his second) and Victor will retire after one jump. I hope that after this bloodbath World Athletics will decide to increase the number of participants in combined events. At the end, there are three left at 5.20. Only the American Williams manages to clear it, just about, on his third attempt, and doesn't go any higher.

Group B includes two of the top three in the standings: Garland and Owens-Delerme. The American starts at the opening height of 4.40 and reaches 4.80. The Puerto Rican is left alone at 5.00, which he clears on the second attempt, then confidently clears 5.10 first time. It's getting late and I'd been thinking about leaving for a while: if the first attempt at 5.20 had looked hopeless, I'd have left, but he comes close, and in at least two out of three tries he gives the impression he might make it. In the standings Garland leads, but Neugebauer and Owens-Delerme are less than 100 points behind. Kaul (whom the announcer keeps pronouncing the English way, "Koul") is almost 500 behind, probably too many even for a specialist in the last two events like him.

For the evening session, my plan was to arrive for the second group of the decathlon javelin, with the top 7 in the standings, even if already underway. I arrive, once again, a bit late because I get off at the wrong metro stop. I have a quick look, before finding my seat, and catch the last 3-4 throws. I then see that Neugebauer has taken the lead in the standings. I'm towards the end of the first deck, at the start of the back straight. To my right there’s a group of Brits taking up three rows, with many Germans in the rows in front. In the area, you can also spot Belgians, Swedes and even a Samoan (like the discus thrower Rose). There are many Americans about too. I think this is the most international evening among the crowd.

I find the women's high jump already underway too: when I peek in, they're on the second attempt at 1.88, and when I reach my seat they've already moved on to 1.93. Another very rapid progression: 1.88-1.93-1.97, as in 2013 and 2016. One goes out at 1.88, another four (out of sixteen) at 1.93, and at 1.97 there are six left. It’s also the case that during the third attempt at 1.97 it starts raining, and at 2.00 it gets heavier, until after five jumps—of which only Olyslagers clears hers—the competition is suspended.

Meanwhile, there had been two finals on the track. First, the women's 800 metres: Mary Moraa sets off quickly and leads, but in the final bend is overtaken by the two British athletes, who themselves are then caught on the line by the other Kenyan, Odira. The top three finish under 1'55". The Brits next to me don’t celebrate, despite the double medal: missing out on gold is a huge disappointment. Next are the men’s 5000: they set off quite fast, first kilometre in 2'40", the second and third even faster. They slow on the fourth and Ingebritsen, who was dropping back, moves to the front, but in the final stages drops off again. They come into the last lap with nearly everyone still together, although strung out: the sprint is won by an American, who I later learn is Hocker. No Africans on the podium, just one in the top ten.

Everything was ready for the discus, after they’d changed the measuring tapes in record time after the javelin. However, the rain is heavy and the circle is already wet, so after the first (mediocre) throw by Alekna, the second athlete, Australia’s Denny, throws the discus out of bounds as if it were an old thing: the competition is suspended, and after a while they announce it will restart from scratch.

The relays are held on a track already soaked. The 4x400 starts: after two legs, it looks like a battle between the USA and Botswana (who field all three individual finalists plus Tebogo), but on the third leg South Africa come back with Van Niekerk and it becomes a three-way contest. On the final straight the USA seem to have taken control and look more threatened by South Africa than Botswana, but in the end the individual race champion (forgive me for not writing his name) comes back: gold to Botswana, USA 7 hundredths behind, South Africa third with the same time. Then comes the women’s race, the only Italian presence of the day: after just two legs, USA, Jamaica, Netherlands and Belgium are in the first four position, with wide distances between them. We finish the third leg in sixth, after a good run from Coiro. On the fourth, Poland and Norway are far too strong, but I’d hoped we could at least fight with France, instead we finish last, well adrift.

Then there’s the decathlon 1500. Owens-Delerme goes out hard, while Neugebauer and Garland mark each other at the back. Then the American fades: Neugebauer wins by 20 points from the Puerto Rican and 101 from Garland, Kaul fourth. With the Italian record one would have finished seventh. Only when the women’s 4x100 is about to start do I realise the programme was supposed to finish an hour earlier than on other days. It’s already clear though that it’ll run late because of the field events. The discus shows no sign of restarting, the high jump had resumed when the rain eased: they’d finished at 2.00, with Mahuchikh saving two attempts, the Pole Zozdik clearing them (with difficulty) at the third, and the others out, but then they had to suspend it again.

In the women’s 4x100, USA and Jamaica are close at the last exchange, then the USA seem to pull away but in the end win by just 4 hundredths, while for third Germany comes through. In the men’s race, this time USA win comfortably over Canada, with the Netherlands third.

We’re left waiting for the field events to finish, with no idea when they’ll resume. I hope to see at least the end of the high jump, which should restart first, but for the discus nothing’s happening. Next to me, the English fans are dancing with a German woman and I join in too. She notices my Budapest World Championships t-shirt and tells me she was there too. I tell her this is my ninth Worlds, she replies it’s only her third (and she seems a few years older than me). She asks if I’ll go to Beijing, I say I hope so. Meanwhile, the English remember that first we have Birmingham.

High jumps resumes: none of the attempts at 2.02 metres are successful, so gold goes to Olyslagers, silver to Zodzik, and bronze to Mahuchikh and Topic, who tied for third place. When they announce that the closing ceremony and medal presentation will take place before the discus throw (at the medal plaza, which I never understood where it was), I decide to leave. Of course, if I had been Swedish, Slovenian or Lithuanian, I would have stayed, and probably if I had been German too (but that would have been bad luck). On my way out, I meet several Americans and a group of Australians with the typical inflatable kangaroo.

I used to look forward to the next edition, thinking that it could only get better, as it couldn't possibly get worse, and sometimes I was wrong. Now I look forward to it, hoping that it will be even better than this one. In any case, before Beijing there are the Winter Olympics and, for athletics, the European U18 Championships in Rieti and perhaps the European Championships in Birmingham.