Four days past, and still vibrating with memories of those 10 days!
What did it all mean, Alfie?
Well, I'm here---for better or worse---to tell you!
Some facts---
Including the inaugural 35K Walk, there were two Men's World Records (35K Walk & Pole Vault), with three from the Women (35K Walk, 100H, 400H).
The Men broke 6 Meet Records (35K Walk became a MR--Marathon, 400H, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus Throw), while the Women nabbed 7 (35K Walk, Marathon, 100, 200, 100H, 400H, 3000SC).
The Men broke just one American Record--the 200!
The Women also got one--the 400H!
The weather was mostly very good, and the crowds became fairly large and always loud and passionate!!
The Mascot was enjoyable, especially when she/he took a swim in the steeplechase pool!
There was that TV cameraman who stood ON the track as the Men's SC field came around--and didn't move!
(Was he ever arrested, and/or banned from Hayward Field forever--or will he become yet another You Tube mega-star for simply being an idiot??)
Speaking of television, I watched NBC and USA, and the Marathons on You Tube.
The 26.2's were shown intact, with ZERO ads!
And since they were run separately, the Women's race got shown in its entirety!!
But NBC/USA made dog shit of their telecasts!
Features & interviews & other events & ads shown during the 5K's, 10K's, and SC's!!
WHY??
Do they think viewers like just sprints?
Will we get bored and switch channels during longer races?
T&F fans watch this crap because they're fans!!
It's pathetic that, after decades of the same old, we serious fans expect them to change!
I always use baseball as a comparison, which is inane, I know!
But even in mid-season, stations show every pitch & swing of the bat, and stay on beyond their 3 hour schedule if it goes to extra innings!!
Yes, there are tons of ads, but NEVER do you lose a second of the action!!
Why can't NBC etc do the same for one lousy T&F meet??
And one more idea--as baseball games always have pre-and post game shows (30 to 60 minutes each!), why can't the best T&F meets do the same?
Use the PRE-meet show for the features and speculations, leaving the meet to cover the ACTION!!
And use the post-meet show for all the interviews!
I'd better end this rant before I SCREAM!!!!!
Did anyone use the results page to keep track (Sic!) of what's going on?
Even while watching the meet, I flipped to the World Athletics results page for more complete results!
What did I get?
NO series in the field events!
NO lap splits during races--or they were late in being posted!
Or the results were late--coming in minutes after the event was done!
In the Walks, you'd have to reload the page to get newer finishers, or athletes splits at all the 5K points!!
That this garbage came from WA, and in its biggest meet of the year is preposterous!!
Do better!!
Did the United States send its best team??
And what does that have to do with the way we select our team?
Over the past few months, I've become online chat friends with Racewalker Robyn Stevens!
She was in excellent shape, and would have represented the US better than anyone!!
But because of trickery & deception & outright manipulation, she didn't race the USATF 35K Champs, where the team would be chosen!
Some of those involved were her key opponents--and her ex-partner, Nick Christie!
But personal considerations aside, the US left its best Walker behind--even though she did get named to the 20K squad!!
She filed a lawsuit through her lawyer.
Ken Stone wrote at least two articles in a San Diego newspaper detailing the machinations and deceptions that kept her from walking the 35K in Eugene!
(The last article included a link to the official press release by her lawyer, shown intact!!)
So what happened there??
With all of this on her mind, she still finished 24th in the 20K, with the other American (Miranda Melville) ending in LAST place!!
And the 35K??
Well, if Robyn had merely tied her AR time, she would have finished in 11th place, 9:22 ahead of Maria Michta-Coffey, 12:26 ahead of Stephanie Casey, and 16:02 ahead of Melville!!
(BTW, I was predicting Robyn would break her AR again--in a time of 2:45 or faster!!)
There were other cases where we didn't send our best team!
The Women's Long Jump was missing Tara Davis, our best current LJ'er!!
Why?
She fouled out of the qualifying round in the USATF meet!
Instead, a woman with a best of 21-11.50 made the team!
Days after USATF, Tara won a LJ with a wind-aided 23-9--almost two feet better than the one we sent to the World's!!
And guess what?
That woman bombed--she didn't make the cut!!
We need to abolish the way we choose our team!
People have bad days (Davis), or are injured or sick on the day!
Yet, as Tara proved, she'd just had "one of those days" at the USATF!
But she was our very best in the LJ!
We need to do away with the Wild Card system also!
Just because an athlete won the last WC's (in this case, it was the 2019 version!!) doesn't mean they're in the same shape!!
Diamond League Champions are also given W.C.'s!!
So what if they won the frigging DL??!!
I'm all for abolishing THAT set-up also, as I've often mentioned!!
Also, Wild Cards should have to put in an "honest effort" AND complete their event, not just show up!!
This is both to prove their fitness AND to give the paying & viewing fans what they deserve from Professional elite athletes!!
It's not enough to sign autographs and pose for selfies!!
More weird shit!
Even if it turned out to be for a good cause, that guy who ran onto the track after the Women's 5K and bodily lifted two Ethiopians up (with his hands inappropriately on their rears) should have been arrested for assault and trespassing!!\
How the hell did he get past security in the first place??
What if he had violent intentions??
And the 110H's!!
First, Hansle Parchment gets hurt while WARMING UP!!
Then both Shane Brathwaite and Devon Allen are DQ'ed for false starts--having too fast reaction times!
Allen was 0.001 too fast!!
After arguing with the officials (seen by millions on TV!), his DQ was held up!!
We saw a final with FIVE athletes--three lanes empty!!
So what was best about the meet?
Mondo ending the meet with a World Record--even after the last race had finished!!
Tobi Amusan shocking all with her win, and her incredible times!!
The "unknown" and unexpected winners--Bin Feng, Wang Jianan!
And the ones known, but still shocking--Jake Wightman, Amusan, Eleanor Patterson, the USA Women's 4 X 100 and Canada's Men's 4 X 100 teams!!
So many National Records, especially in the inaugural 35K Walks--which was to be expected, of course!!
But so many others, in almost every event!
And Place Records & Age Records!!
Great duels--Mu vs Hodgkinson, The Jamaican sprinters vs the Americans in the Women's sprints, Wightman and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Gebreslase vs Korir in the Women's Marathon!
The stunning Records---Mondo's 20-4.50, Syd's 50.68, Tobi's 12.12 (and wind-aided 12.06), Yulimar's 50-9.25, Ceh's 233 & change, both Crouser & Kovacs over 75 feet, MR's rarely seen in the longest races (both Marathons!!), the DEPTH of both 35K Walks, 10.67, 21.45, 8:53.02, 46:29!!
The best & worst coming from one athlete--Karissa Schweizer PR'ing by 29 seconds in her 30:18.05, then DNF'ing in the 5000!!
Nia Ali being DQ'ed!
Those "strategic" distance races--the Men's 3000SC being the worst, but their 10000 not far behind in utter boredom!!
Even the Women's 5000 (3:14 first K!!)!!
Overall?
A fantastic 10 days, with ups & downs to challenge the world's craziest roller coaster!
But knowing it could have been even better!!
And hoping/wishing/praying that Budapest's World's next year will "take a sad song and make it better", to quote the Beatles!!
Thank you for following the meet via this blog!
Now on to the rest of the 2022 season!!
See you soon!!
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