Thoughts on the Diamond League season
The Diamond League final in Zurich was the last Diamond League of the year and my seventh. I never go to Asia or Africa – too far for a 2 hour meet. For health reasons I had to skip Doha this year. I love the Doha event with media well looked after in that money-no-object environment. All Diamond Leagues are essentially the same – people running round a track, throwing and jumping – but each Diamond League has its own character and traditions. Stockholm and London take place in the Olympic Stadium – Stockholm in the quaint 1912 stadium, London the 2012 modern stadium.
There are some lovely traditions. Oslo used to have a strawberry party, sadly discontinued it seems. I recall the legendary photographer, Mark Shearman, being told off for eating his strawberries too soon. Tradition demands that you cannot eat until the mayor of Oslo has spoken. Oslo used to have a snowball-throwing contest – not Diamond event I believe. For people of certain ago who grew up watching Coe, Ovett and Cram running the mile here, being present in the old stadium is always exciting – the more so if Jakob is keeping the tradition going.
When the scheduling is good, everyone takes the train from Oslo to Stockholm. Lat year I recall standing in a line to buy coffee with Alison dos Santos and having a great conversation. This year – gratuitous name drop – Usain Bolt sat in my compartment and Sam Kendricks came and sat next to me and explained to me the dynamics of travelling the world with a group of friends, wanting to beat them without wishing them to compete badly. The Stockholm stadium is a the original 1912 structure – architecturally magnificent but a nightmare for the organizers of a modern meet.
Paris is everyone’s favorite city. From the rooftop of my hotel I could see the Eifel Tower. The event used to be in the Stade the France (the 2024 Olympic stadium) but the crowd barely half-filled the stadium. The packed smaller Charlety Stadium creates so much of a better atmosphere. Last year at the press conference athletes were photographed holding a giant baguette – as you do!
I had to skip Rome this year because of a clash of dates but Rome is always fun. One year the Pope received some believing athletes. Another year a celebrity cooking TV program invited athletes to…
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