Heavy rain might have delayed the action getting under way, but the opening session in Hungary left little doubt that the hosts are ready to put on a show at the World Championships
As omens go, the arrival of an electrical thunderstorm right as the action was due to get going is pretty much the polar opposite of what the event organisers would have been looking for. But, after just one session, all the signs are pointing towards Budapest 2023 being a particularly good edition of the World Athletics Championships.
On a foreboding Saturday morning, in the centre of the Hungarian capital, the men’s 20km walk had to wait two hours for the biblical rain and the ink black clouds to pass, while the saturated spectators who had headed for the glistening stadium at the brand new, purpose-built National Athletics Centre (surely there must be a catchier name) arrived to be told there would be an hour’s delay in the events getting underway. As one of my media colleagues put it, at that point the championships slogan of “witness the wonder” should have been replaced by “witness the thunder”.
If anything, though, the hold-up only heightened the sense of expectation. On the evidence so far, the pronouncements of healthy ticket sales would appear to be absolutely correct – the arena was around 70 per cent full – and a large chunk of that crowd seemed happy to pass the time with a bit of singing and dancing, all of which had created a promising atmosphere even before a single athlete had set foot on the track.
When the super soppers had done their work, the first event to come under starter’s orders was the 100m hurdles heats of the women’s heptathlon – the point at which it was confirmed the gathered throng weren’t just here exclusively for a party. They were going to be fully invested in the athletics, too.
Xénia Krizsán is a former European U23 champion but not exactly the biggest name the sport has ever known yet, when she was announced in lane eight, the very sound of her name was greeted with raucous celebration as the first full test of the stadium acoustics was passed with flying colours.
As you might have guessed, Krizsán is Hungarian and you could have been forgiven for thinking the 30-year-old had already won a medal when she hit the finish line, rather than the reality of securing a second-placed finish in her heat – albeit in a season’s best of 13.48. Another season’s best, 1.77m, was greeted with equal acclaim in the…
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