The highs and the lows of 10 tumultuous days at the London Stadium seen through the eyes of those who reported on the World Athletics ChampionshipsUsain Bolt. Judging by the outpouring of love and affection he received it probably has to be him but the achievements of Wayde van Niekerk should not be overlooked. He came within 0.03sec of a 200m and 400m double despite clearly being exhausted after six punishing races. Hero the Mascot deserves an honourable mention too for keeping the crowd gasping and laughing during quieter moments. Sean Ingle Related: Drama and controversy at the World Athletics Championships – a photo essay Related: ‘London 2017 has given athletics the opportunity to believe again’ claim organisers Related: Usain...
Attempts to anoint Wayde van Niekerk were doomed to fail. As for exotic gastric viruses, there is no link to the London Stadium’s wretched foodIt is not uncommon for athletes contractually obliged to address the media to sound like disciplined hostages being paraded by their captors: name, rank, serial number, monosyllables, grunts. When Wayde van Niekerk attended his press conference after winning the 400m on Tuesday night, he sounded more like a hostage with Stockholm Syndrome. “How does it feel to be the most well-known person in track and field?” an American journalist asked.“It’s always an honour … massive responsibility … continue performing … continue winning medals … continue the great legacy … important for each and everyone to build...
This week’s roundup also features some footballer initiations, memorable Women’s Rugby World Cup moments and a basketball balls-up1) If the norovirus lays off, the London Stadium should deliver a big moment this weekend with the 4x100m: elite sprinting, Usain Bolt’s final farewell, plus potential baton-based slapstick. It’s an event that has produced some classic clips: Jamaica’s Bolt-finished world record win in 2012; Team GB’s men’s victory at Athens 2004; and a classic from Seoul 1988: USA versus East Germany versus USSR, featuring Flo-Jo. And here’s a montage of classic baton fumbles, inevitably featuring Britain and some familiar sounding commentary: “Jarrett’s gone off well, storming down the back straight, Jarrett will hand over to Braithwaite, not bad, oh! Braithwaite’s dropped the...
The opprobrium directed at the new 100m world champion has hardly been a surprise but British fans should be wary of a holier than thou attitudeBefore we begin in semi-earnest, a word on “serving one’s time” in the athletics ban sense of the term. I am all for doing one’s time and that being an end to it, but it does seem worth acknowledging what this means in any other place of work.Say you worked at a building society, and were eventually discovered to have been cheating it out of funds, not to mention stealing from your colleagues’ wallets too. You’re out, you’re disgraced, you “do your time”, whatever form that may take. And at that point, your debt to...
The selfless champion and great entertainer will leave a void in the athletics world no one can possibly fill – so what happens when he retires?The penultimate act of Usain Bolt’s career, if all goes according to plan, should begin just before 9.45pm on Saturday night with a crashing tsunami of sound, then the sight of thousands of mobile phone lights dancing deliriously around the London Stadium. The coolest man in sport will briefly bask in the crowd’s affections and then – 41 strides and 100 metres later, if all goes to plan – revel in his glory. Yet as Bolt strikes his familiar To Da World pose and collects his 12th world championship title, the worries about what happens...