World Championships in Athletics in London - Day 7 (10-8-2017)

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At least once, I getto the Olympic Park a little in advance. I have a look at the official store and confirm my initial impression: merchandising is not so good, perhaps the worst of the WCHs I've seen. I find out now that the mascots are two: in addition to the one you see at the stage, the hedegehog Hero, there is also a bee.

There are queues at the gates: at bridge 1 the stewards tell us to go to 2 to find a shorter queue. When we arrived at 2 we were told to go to 3, but at this point I'm too tired and I stop, also because my sector is between 1 and 2. I'm again behind the second bend, but even lower than yesterday (fifth row). I thought it was not a good place, but I find out that the qualifications of women's high jump are held on my side: I do not remember having ever seen HJ and PV in the same sector. In front of me many team members: I see representatives of Lithuania, Sweden, USA, Germany and Croatia. At some point Italian manager Locatelli also comes, looking for a person (he is older than he looks in picture)s. I see the girls very close, especially when they approach to talk with their coaches, and it's almost always nice to see them. I always notice it, but the thinness of some is really impressive: mainly Gordeeva, but also Kuchina herself (her husband may forgive me if I do not call her with her new name, too complicated). The one that turns more often towards the coach is our Furlani herself, who seems very worried, almost frightened. Even Trost, who is almost a fixed couple with Beitia, seems tense, but more determined.

The result will be a flop for both: I did not expect that from Trost, which at least had always got to the final. The Caballero also sinks, and she was expected t o getat least to the semifinals. So even a more disappointing day than others. And I think that when the Moscow WCH ended, the last ones where I had been, I could not wait for the new ones to start, hoping they would go better, but in comparison to these (at least so far) those were a success.

On the other hand I do not see much of the other races, apart from the bend of the 200. Of the javelin, I can understand more or less if a throw is good, not the exact measure. Vetter immediately shoots 91.20: I realized that it was a great throw, but not to this point. The triple jump I follow almost entirely from the screen: a lively race in the first three rounds (although there are two separate races, one for the first two and one for the others), then nothing happens in the fourth and fifth and little in the sixth. The fact that you get a medal with 17.19 increases the regret for Donato.

After the 400hs, with the victory of the second American (with the voice of a little girl), you get to the clou: the 200 final. The public is all for Makwala: no one else, apart from the British and Bolt, was so cheered. He starts strongly, then shuts off, so there is a new surprise with Guliyev's victory: the races where the favourite has won have been pretty rare so far (although the TJ was one of them).

Returning to the hotel, I see a lot more people around than the other days: it seems that here the weekend starts on Thursday night. A girl (probably a bachelorette farewell) greets me: I do not understand why, then I find out she has noticed that I'm Italian, because of the painted cheeks (yes, I always have them).

Ultimately, on the one hand, the question "why am I not going to watch fencing?" gets stronger, but on the other I think that athletics is beautiful even without Italians (and despite Coe).