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Today I hoped I could tell about a historic evening, one of those I could say "I was there" like for 100 meters in Berlin but nothing: the 400 meters final was a race like others. So I can tell about the day from the beginning.
Today is the day the races start latest, at 7.20pm. During the day, around London, I notice I hear other languages more than I do at the stadium. Of course, I also went to tourist places: in the City it would have been different (but I've had enough of the City...), but Iit was not so in Moscow or Osaka.I return to the hotel for a rest and I fall asleep, so I leave to the stadium late, I also find the underground blocked, so I decide to walk to Liverpool Strret. I enter the stadium at 7.20 exactly, queues at the food kiosks and I decide to postpone the dinner. I stop to take the program, to find that it is even worse than usual. I had not talked about it yet, but the paper program simply sucks: I never saw a so poorly made one. First of all the race program is 4-5 pages out of 40, so it's hard to find. Then they don't write the numbers of lane and order, don't write PBs and SBs and for the vertical jumps they put the same table with 6 columns as for horizontal jumps and throws. Lastly, for the different rounds of the same races the presentations are the same, so the contents repeat. Ice on the cake: today, in the initial summary of the schedule, they put yesterday's one.I am even higher than yesterday, and a bit more central, always in the straight opposite to the finish. Behind me a group of Germans. Instead, there are many French people in the pole vault sector. It starts with women's javelin, very fought: Spotakova finds the winning throw at second attempt, but the Chinese are challenging her. Fortunately, there are no changes in the last round, as I miss it to eat. After the Italian disaster on the 200, in fact, I decide to go down for dinner, to find even more queues than at the beginning. I choose the kiosk with the shortest queue and eat a "pork roll", sandwich with pork pieces similar to American pulled pork.
Today I hoped I could tell about a historic evening, one of those I could say "I was there" like for 100 meters in Berlin but nothing: the 400 meters final was a race like others. So I can tell about the day from the beginning.
Today is the day the races start latest, at 7.20pm. During the day, around London, I notice I hear other languages more than I do at the stadium. Of course, I also went to tourist places: in the City it would have been different (but I've had enough of the City...), but Iit was not so in Moscow or Osaka.I return to the hotel for a rest and I fall asleep, so I leave to the stadium late, I also find the underground blocked, so I decide to walk to Liverpool Strret. I enter the stadium at 7.20 exactly, queues at the food kiosks and I decide to postpone the dinner. I stop to take the program, to find that it is even worse than usual. I had not talked about it yet, but the paper program simply sucks: I never saw a so poorly made one. First of all the race program is 4-5 pages out of 40, so it's hard to find. Then they don't write the numbers of lane and order, don't write PBs and SBs and for the vertical jumps they put the same table with 6 columns as for horizontal jumps and throws. Lastly, for the different rounds of the same races the presentations are the same, so the contents repeat. Ice on the cake: today, in the initial summary of the schedule, they put yesterday's one.I am even higher than yesterday, and a bit more central, always in the straight opposite to the finish. Behind me a group of Germans. Instead, there are many French people in the pole vault sector. It starts with women's javelin, very fought: Spotakova finds the winning throw at second attempt, but the Chinese are challenging her. Fortunately, there are no changes in the last round, as I miss it to eat. After the Italian disaster on the 200, in fact, I decide to go down for dinner, to find even more queues than at the beginning. I choose the kiosk with the shortest queue and eat a "pork roll", sandwich with pork pieces similar to American pulled pork.
I am back for the 400hs semi-finals: Italy hopes for a miracle that does not come. It's one of those days that I wonder, "but why do not I go to see fencing or maybe swimming?" (where Italians do better). There is also the men's PV, with a progression that seems a little too fast, as it almost always happens: in 3 they do not even clear the first heights, after 3 heights 5 jumpers are left. But then they go o well, with 3 over 5.89, and it ends after the end of the runs.
Before the grand finale of 400 there is the final of 800, with Bosse's surprise victory (the French were waiting for Lavillenie and Bosse arrived: good for them that they have all these alternatives). In the interview he asks "am I dreaming?" in a better English than many Frenchmen in much higher positions. Finally, the 400, where we expected times below 43, but they hardly go below 44. Sure, it seems strnge to consider a 43.98 a disappointment, but Van Niekerk (and not only) had accostumed us well. Particular conditions, anyway,: all races have been slow.
At the end of the 400 many are beginning to leave, although PV is not over yet (yesterday I saw people rush as if they could miss the last underground) When Lavillenie's last miss decides the pole vault, almost everybody starts out, even though Kendricks could theoretically continue to jump. He wisely decides to quit, even because he is likely to be left alone in the stadium.
At exit, usually 40 minutes to get to the underground. This time, however, I could have stopped at a kiosk if I wanted to.
Before the grand finale of 400 there is the final of 800, with Bosse's surprise victory (the French were waiting for Lavillenie and Bosse arrived: good for them that they have all these alternatives). In the interview he asks "am I dreaming?" in a better English than many Frenchmen in much higher positions. Finally, the 400, where we expected times below 43, but they hardly go below 44. Sure, it seems strnge to consider a 43.98 a disappointment, but Van Niekerk (and not only) had accostumed us well. Particular conditions, anyway,: all races have been slow.
At the end of the 400 many are beginning to leave, although PV is not over yet (yesterday I saw people rush as if they could miss the last underground) When Lavillenie's last miss decides the pole vault, almost everybody starts out, even though Kendricks could theoretically continue to jump. He wisely decides to quit, even because he is likely to be left alone in the stadium.
At exit, usually 40 minutes to get to the underground. This time, however, I could have stopped at a kiosk if I wanted to.
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