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At Ciampino airport I meet pole vaulter Roberta Bruni, who tells me that she, unlike other Italian athletes (who, I later read, have also had problems with their luggages) takes the direct flight also because it is more convenient for the poles. I think that whenever I complain about luggage, I should always remember those who travel with poles. Unlike others I have taken in the past, starting with the one to Doha, this is a flight where, if not all, a good part of tjhe passengers are going to the World Champs and it is also evident on arrival, with the rush to look at the results: Bruni announces Iapichino's result and Bekh's elimination. At the arrival there are volunteers already at baggage claim, then just outside there is an information point (which I don't use).
I leave the hotel at around 5.30. Checking the way, I see that the stadium is a bit further than I thought: I thought it was about 2 km, so much so that I considered going on foot, instead it is a little over 3. Maybe I will do it on foot once, but not today. The route is also not very linear, you have to take at least two vehicles. At the arrival of the tram a sign says that you are one javelin throw away from seeing the superheroes in action, but that's not really the case, not even if you consider a Zelezny throw.
I arrive at a large entrance (there are two in all), where with some difficulty I understand (the stewards speak English with difficulty and only if you ask them specifically) that I have to leave my backpack at the depot. I ask, shouting, where it was written, a guard invites me to follow him. I think 'now they are going to arrest me', but instead he shows me a sign, which anyway is located after the entrance, saying that backpacks larger than A4 are not allowed. So I have to decide quickly what to keep: apart from the binoculars, I bring my flag and my cap.
Eventually I get in and also decide to get some food, so by now the opening ceremony is gone. At the bar they do better with German than with English, like the first (and so far only) time I had been to Budapest, in 1988. On the tram I had met some Germans and a family of Poles, entering I see many Australians, British (those are never missing), a few Japanese and even an Icelandic family. The stadium, however, is very nice, modern and the right size for such an event. It will be largely filled, but not completely.
My seat (which will remain the same throughout the event) is at the end of the first turn. Today I am in a good position for the discus and triple, while the weight is completely on the opposite side. In my row and the one in front there are some Spaniards, my neighbours I thought for a long time were Americans only to find out in the last race that they were probably British, behind there are two Jamaicans.
In the first one, big applause for Ingebritsen, who starts as if he were taking a walk and sends the others ahead, but at 400 metres he is already third, with 200 metres to go he goes ahead, but he can control it because by now the first 6 have taken off. In the second, however, there was a big pile-up to the end, with Bussotti still fifth with 100 metres to go, but he then finished 13th. In the third there is a home athlete, and from the applause you can see that the local public is still predominant Public which, however, does not seem to have noticed the two Hungarians, at least one of whom is of a good level, who are competing in the heptathlon weight (they will applaud them later in the 200). Arese's race was excellent, finishing fourth in 3'34", giving the impression of control. Meslek first of the excluded in the last.
While the discus continues, where there will be no direct qualifiers (the measure was 66.50) we come to the triple qualifying. It started with many nulls and modest jumps, so that Bocchi with 16.20 found himself among the firsts, but it was clear that this could not be enough, in fact in the second round he was already out. Results always take a while to arrive, more so than with the old manual measurements. Ihemeje, on the other hand, does 16.91 and it is clear that it will be enough In the third round he is certain and gives up jumping. I miss 3 of the 4 jumps above 17 metres: only when they give the ranking I discover that Hebert, whose jump I had seen at 16.99, had then jumped 17.70. Bocchi on the third jump is seen to improve, but to the eye it seems not enough: instead it is 16.66 and for the moment he is 10th. Two jumps from the end he is still 11th, then a Portuguese who had two fouls jumps and makes 16.77. Bocchi would still be in by one centimetre, but Lazaro Martinez, who is right behind him, is left: you can immediately see that it is a great jump, and in fact it is 17.12.
The track events continue with the 100 heats. In the second Ceccarelli is fourth: given the time of the first two, I thought he might be in contention for the repechage, instead you can immediately see that he is out. Too bad, qualification was not impossible, the third had done 10.17. After Charleston's resounding elimination in the fourth, the fifth is delayed and when we get to the start there are two false starts. At the valid start, Seville immediately took off Kerley: it seemed that the American was going badly, but at the finish it turned out that it was the Jamaican who had run a monstrous race: 9.86! In the sixth, Jacobs starts badly, then recovers, seems to finish second, instead he is third.
After the end of the heptathlon's shot put, they set up the platform for the men's race. For the first time I see a marker placed directly on the world record (and the other is at 21 metres). The athletes are presented as it is customary now, not in order of throw, but in ascending order of ranking: I don't like this, I think the presentation should also serve to understand the order of competition. Crouser starts, and immediately begins with 22.63: thank goodness he was sick! The others struggle: Weir and Fabbri make throws which in the general trend would not even be bad, especially the latter, which goes around 21, but are fouls. Weir does not recover: 19.99 and a disastrous throw, cancelled. Fabbri, on the other hand, makes 21.26 in the second: at least he remains in the top eight (hopefully) and the medal is not far away. He arrives at the third throw that the medal is half a metre away: it seems to me that he goes quite a bit over 21 and from his exultation I understand that I was not wrong. The result is beyond any prediction or dream: 22.34! Then comes a throw close to the record mark, it could be that Italian record which until last year I doubted I would ever see broken in my lifetimne, but it is a foul. Kovacs (much applauded by the crowd because of his origins) and Walsh go over 22, but remain behind, on the last throw Crouser seems to go over the record, instead missing it by 5 cm: 23.51.
anca di 5 cm: 23,51.
In the meantime, the women's 10,000 was being run, amid general disinterest, as it was a very tactical race: first kilometre in 3'35", then they accelerated a little, but with 800 metres to go the leaderss were still 11. On the last lap Hassan started, chased by the Ethiopians, in the final straight Gidey flanked her, but the Dutchwoman seemed to resist, until the two collided and fell. Ethiopian sweep, I wonder if Gidey will be disqualified, but Hassan congratulates, she doesn't seem angry. In fact from the replay you can see that she is the one who hits Gidey, then falls on the rebound.
Somebody starts to go, but there is stil the final of the mixed 4X400, where the Dutch will repeat. After three legs they are in the lead, so by now, with Bol, they are the big favourites, but in the final the USA catch up and, seeing herself overtaken, Bol dives and loses her baton.
I go out thanking God that I am not Dutch, am thinking that I still have to get my rucksack back. On the way out they give a water bottle with today's date on it, too bad one doesn't have a place where to put it. the queue at the depot lasts about ten minutes: behind e are some Americans, with whom they comment that only clear backpacks are allowed in their country, but they warn kit clearly. One replies that he has never had problems with backpacks outside the USA. I see that some people collect backpacks much smaller than mine.
I take the tram, then the metro, but I have the problem of finding the station. And tomorrow it starts again at 7.15am.
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