Six Impressions of Day 1
1 Two medals for the hosts
The win within the 5000m race by Nadia Battocletti within the final race of the day was a becoming finish to day one, significantly because the Italian athlete solely took the lead within the ultimate lap. There had been a earlier Italian victory by Antonella Palmisano, however within the girls’s 20k race stroll the place solely the ultimate lap was within the stadium. I want to inform you that the stadium erupted, however see level 2.
2 Spectators
The day’s disappointment was the sparse crowd, made worse by the truth that they have been unfold across the cavernous 60,000-seat stadium. Rome is a superb metropolis, and the Stadio Olimpico is a superb stadium. I perceive the need to maneuver the occasion across the continent, however having it in an unlimited however empty stadium can’t be the reply.
3 Heptathlon
Two issues emerged from the heptathlon. Firstly, Nafi Thiam appears to be like just like the athlete to beat in Paris as she took a transparent lead on the finish of day 1. Sadly the injury-prone world champion, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, withdrew with a niggle.
4 Irish eyes have been smiling
Eire pulled off an thrilling win on the combined relay with a group of Christopher O’Donnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr, and Sharlene Mawdsley, with Italy second and Netherlands third – Femke Bol on leg 4 couldn’t take the Netherlands to gold this time.
5 The place does the combined relay match?
The larger query is what to do with the combined relay. It’s an thrilling occasion, however the place does it slot in this system? Whether it is on day 1—like right here—there’s the query for the athletes with aspirations for a person medal. Do they danger weakening their problem for a person medal by placing a further race of their legs? Britain got here fifth however might have challenged for a medal had they picked their strongest group. The GB quartet have been athletes not operating within the particular person.
6 Drama
Lastly, this column likes a little bit of drama and controversy. Within the morning, Klaudia Wojtunik was DQed within the 100m hurdles for a false begin. However then, within the night, she was allowed a rerun alone and certified by 0.02 secs. Sadly, there was no audible announcement, and lots of within the crowd could not have had a clue what was taking place.
