World Championships in Athletics in London - Day 8 (11-8-2017)

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Also this time I get to the stadium at the last moment. On the road many volunteers give five: they give it to me three times. There is almost no queue, but a sadistic volunteer reminds us that we risk missing the beginning and that he would not want to be in our shoes. In the end, I miss the first heat of the decathlon 100 meters and arrive just in time for the second.

This time, the public is like in a normal morning session: the stadium is so empty that for the first time I notice that the seats have the colours of West Ham. I'm in seventh row, half the final straight, so in the best position for 100 of the decathlon and 100hs. For the first time I meet some Italians, who show up only at 11am, for Tamberi's race: I  will meet Others in the afternoon.

In the 100hs I see from very close the  ruinous fall of the Trinidad hurdler, who remains several minutes on the ground before being taken off in the stretcher (it seems she's okay now). Nevertheless, in the first result appeared on the scoreboard she was in fourth place, with 13.01. I also see wind data, which they never tell. I also see the podium well, but in the morning there are no medal ceremonies.

I also see the women's discus quite well, but with some difficulty in seeing the tool start, which gets confusied with the cage.You see the race that was most heartfelt to all of us: the qualifications of men's high jump. In the initial presentation, the speaker does not name Tamberi and when he jumps sometimes calls him Tàmberi. The pronunciation of the speaker is horrible, he calls everybody the English way: e.g. Lisek became "Laisek" and today the Spanish decathlete Urena became "Iurena". Tamberi however clears 2.17 on first attempt, then 2.22, 2.26 and 2,29 all on second, but always making the bar shake. At 2.29, he kneels as if he was praying the Mecca, thinking he has made it, but finds himself 13th. 2.31 is needed, and he doesn't make it. He leaves the field last, unhappy. At least he made his SB, and he is only the fourth Italian to do so in these WCH. I rhave ead so many horrible comments about him, but you just have to thank him.

The decathlon shot put is left: they put the makers farther (14 and 16 meters, against 12 and 14) in the group of the worst. So, there was a group with more than half of the throws over the second marker and one in which 90% did not reach the first. At the exit I meet a group of Australian fans (of a hurdler) equipped with inflatable kangaroo. I make late and go out when they're starting to close the gates.

The afternoon program starts at 17, but until 19 there is only the decathlon high jump. I arrive at 17.40 and find the stadium already quite full: around 18 three-quarters of the stands will be filled almost entirely (the area along the final straight remains somewhat empty). I'm in the second deck at the start of 200. I see everything well: the only problem is that in the HJ I'm aligned with the bar so I can ot see it, except when it falls down. The disadvantage of the second deck however is that for every need you have to go down the stairs and then back up: in the upper deck there are no bars or toilets.

Finally I can enjoy a horizontal jump race, and the women's long jump is really worth, always fought centimeter by centimeter. It's only a pity that Reese's winning jump takes place during a semifinal of the 800 and so I miss it. The hammer throw is also balanced: Even when Fajdek takes the air in the third throw, the positions from 2nd to 7th remain in the less than one meter. It's only a pity that Lingua is not in the race: after 3 throws he is 10th and therefore he has to stop. We sure cannot blame him, he made his job, but we seriously risk to end up the track and field events with zero finalists: Freak Antoni's saying is true "it's not true that when you touch the bottom you can only go up. Sometimes you start digging." In the finale of the evening, it stands out the final of women's 3000 steeplechase, with the surprising American double and the comedy in the second round, when a Kenyan believes she is still in the first round and continues on the track rather than deviating to the water jump.