Five things we learned on Athletics World Championships day 2 - slow women, a streaker and Bolt
Remote-controlled discus transport, chaos in the women's 10,000m, a naked man in the long jump and roars and a surprise for Bolt caught the attention on day two of the Athletics World Championships 2017.
Issued on:
- Jolly jobs do exist
There are two remote-controlled cars that take the discus to and fro on the field at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. They are operated by two lads, Christian and Roberto, who built them at the cost of around 20,000 euros. They travel at up to 50km/h and do smart turns. Perhaps at the end of the championships they’ll do a drag race.
- Keep an eye on the runners
Things got a little chaotic in the women’s 10,000m final. The 33 runners set off at a funereal pace and jogged along as if they would still be around for the men’s 100m final which had been scheduled to start a few hours later. Almaz Ayana clearly got bored of all the dilly-dallying and decided to take charge of the race after around 3,000 metres. Oh dear! At one stage the 2016 Olympic champion was 240 metres clear of her rivals. The runners were strewn out in groups all along the track and it was difficult to discern which group was actually in the running – so to speak – or makeweights, such was Almaz’s capacity to lap her opponents. The 25-year-old took the bell for the final lap in her own private Idaho and ended up winning by more than 46 seconds. Her compatriot, Tirunesh Dibaba, took silver.
- The naked truth
Just after Luvo Manyonga from South Africa had claimed the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.44 metres, a rather large naked man managed to get onto the track and headed down the straight to the finish line. He evaded the rugby tackle of one security guard – clearly nothing to grab hold of - before being surrounded by a few others. The miscreant’s medals were covered up and he was frogmarched to an exit to the roars of the crowd.
- Same old, same old
The athletes for the men’s 100 metres came out of the pre-race holding area individually - the Briton Reece Prescod got a huge roar, for Justin Gatlin there were jeers and everyone else got a cheer again. The last man out, Usain Bolt, received the loudest roar of the evening.
- Not the same old, same old
Justin Gatlin beat Usain Bolt for the first time in a major championship.
To read our coverage of the 2017 Athletics World Championships click here
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe