Field events at the 2024 European's

GianMarco, "Gimbo", Tamberi is not only a great athlete, coming back from an awful injury to become the best high-jumper in the world, but also an accomplished showman. And in Rome he gave an exhibition of both his talents. He missed a jump at 2.26 m and two at 2.29 m. But then he succeeded on his third attempt and went on to pass 2.31 on his first. At that point, only one jumper was still in contention, who missed once at 2.31, moved to 2.33 m, missed twice and was out. Tamberi, jumping after him, had won at that point and, for his third attempt, had the bar raised at 2.34, which he passed. Then we were granted a short interlude with Gimbo feinting injury and, after this, exhibiting a jumping shoe full of springs. But the event was not over yet. He placed the bar at 2.37 m and passed on the first try for a championship record and world-leading performance.

The women's event was less eventful. The qualifiers saw the elimination of Valortigara and Levchenko and, in the final, the medals were decided at 1.95 m, M. Demireva just missing out on 4th place for her come-back at a high-level competition. I. Herascchenko won, at long last, a medal in a major (outdoors) championship. A. Topic pursues her steady progress, finishing second with 1.97 m while Mahuchikh won with 2.01 m.

"Manolo" Karalis added a silver European to his bronze world medal, passing 5.87 m on his first attempt. (He went on to improve the greek national record with 5.92 m a few days later). Mondo Duplantis was, as (almost) always, untouchable. He won the competition with 6.10 m, (with just 5 successful jumps) and a new championships record. The women's event was a pleasant surprise for the greek fans. K. Stefanidi passed 4.73 m on her first try and took control of the event, indoor world champion M. Caudery having an off day (but succeeding at 4.73 on her second attempt). The situation was soon reversed though as A. Moser, who had an unsuccessful first attempt at 4.73 continued at 4.78 m and passed on her first attempt. Still, Stefanidi took away silver, just as she had done two years ago in Münich. The surprise of the event was the below-par performance of reigning European champion W. Murto, who finished 8th with 4.44 m despite having jumped 4.81 m earlier in the season.

M. Mihambo won easily the women's long jump (see this post for the men's event) with two 7+ jumps, her best being 7.22 m. L. Iapichino added an outdoors silver to last year's indoor bronze, with 6.94. A. Peleteiro won the triple jump with 14.85 m while T. Danismaz confirmed her 2023 world indoor title, winning European silver. G. Petrova on her come-back at international level after several years of absence, scrapped into the final, beating the 13th placed athlete on count-back, and went on to finish 6th. The men's event was, well, eventful. Already the previous day, at the mess hall, Pichardo and Diaz almost came to blows. A. Copello (he is from Santiago de Cuba, just like Pichardo, while Díaz comes from La Habana) had to intervene for the spirits to calm down.

In the competition, Pichardo took control with 18.04 m (his second-best performance after his 18.08 m from 2015) but Díaz responded first with 17.96 m and then with a humongous 18.18 m, the third performance of all time. But the matter did not finish there. Pichardo casted doubt (with a publication in social media) on Díaz's performance because the electronic board next to the pit ceased to function during Diaz' jump. (Díaz responded implying that Pichardo is a crybaby). Make sure not to miss their duel in the Olympics.

I can't say that I enjoyed particularly the throws. L. Fabbri won easily the men's shot put with 22.45 m, more than a metre beyond the silver medalist. J. Schilder won the women's event with a so-so throw of 18.77 m, mere centimetres ahead of the two other medalists. F. Roos would have won silver had she made in the final the same 18.70 m throw as in the qualifiers. Men's discus saw the defeat of the world record holder. M. Alekna could not throw more than 67.48 m, and so he was beaten by K. Ceh (68.08 m) and L. Weisshaidinger (67.70 m). The other favourite, D. Stahl, was just outside the medals with 66.84 m. S. Perkovic has taken her husband's surname and competes now as Elkasevic. And, with 67.04 m, she obtained her 7th European victory in an uninterrupted series since 2010. J. Vadlejch managed to snatch gold at his last attempt with an 88.65 m throw in the men's javelin. Of the three athletes I am following in the women's javelin throw only Vilagos managed to reach the podium with a personal best of 64.42 m (losing gold to V. Hudson for 20 cm). E. Tzengko was a disappointing 6th and M. Andrejczyk 10th. W. Nowicki won the men's hammer throw with a 6th attempt 80.95 m throw. The women's event saw the victory of S. Fantini with 74.18 m, while A. Wlodarczyk grabbed silver for her come-back to high-level competition. All in all, apart from Fabbri, the men discus throwers and Elkasevic I am not particulary optimistic about the chances of the European throwers at the Olympics.

The first French championship of women's decathlon

It had been announced at the beginning of the year. It took place in Talence during the "Open de France" of Athletics over the week-end of 13-14 July and was a great success. The participation was limited to 12 athletes who had to qualify for the event. All of them finished their decathlon (and even the one athlete who no-heighted in the pole vault went on to complete the remaining two events).

After having won the indoor heptathlon this winter, Noemie Desailly won the decathlon title,  establishing the French U23 record with an excellent performance of 7705 points. She could have done slightly better were it not for a marginal foul close to 40 m in the discus throw and a below-par high jump. Emma Brentel's, 6958 points performance was also better than the previous U23 record.

Seven out of the twelve participants could jump higher than 3 m in the pole vault (with Brentel passing 4.21 m). The weak point of most of them was the discus throw, with only four athletes throwing beyond 30 m, (R. Bidois winning the event with 47.43 m). N. Desailly won four out of the 10 events and, with the proper preparation, she could even threaten the 8150 points national senior record of M. Collonvillé. (It was established 20 years ago, in that crazy order of field events devised by what should have been a misogynist committee, and was the inaugural world record).

M. Collonvillé had offered her support to his women's decathlon from the outset and was present in Talence. You can see her in the photo below. And, if you look carefully, you can see at the extreme right of the photo my friend Frédéric Gousset, of Décapassion, who could not be absent from such an event. He is making the sign of victory and I agree with him that this first national decathlon was a first victory for women, who must still fight in order to reach parity with men. 

The next big appointment is on August 3rd for the first World Championship of women's decathlon. Up to now World Athletics has not taken an official position concerning this event. Let's hope that Sir Sebastian will be more decent than his quintum-removed predecessor S. Edström who first did whatever was possible in order to sabotage women's athletics, and, when that did not work, embraced them and strove to suffocate them.

PS A very detailed article on the french women's decathlon championships, due to my friends of Décapassion, has just appeared. I strongly suggest that you read it. (Use Google translation if you can't read french). It is really great. One learns among others that Mehlich did not foul-out in pole vault: she injured her right hand warming-up for the long jump, threw with her left hand and just could not pole vault. But she went on and finish her decathlon.

Track events at the 2024 European's

To tell the truth, I did not expect the European Championships to be of that high a level just two months before the Olympîcs. Granted, not everybody present in Rome would be going to Paris but even so, in many instances, the performances were impressive. It's as if the Europeans were a springboard for the Olympics. In any case, I did really enjoy the Championships, using my VPN and connecting to the greek television who had a comprehensive coverage. (The french TV was covering only the evening events).

M. Jacobs kept the 100 m title he had won two years ago in Münich. While his performance 10.02 s (still a season's best) was not outstanding, he improved it shortly afterwards to  9.92 s (but I'm afraid that even the later will not suffice for starring in the Games). The 200 m held a surprise, in fact a bad one, for F. Tortu who was the pre-race favourite. Running from 9th lane T. Mumenthaler won in 20.28 s, Tortu, with 20.41 s just upgrading his Münich bronze to silver in Rome. A. Doom, added the European 400 m outdoor title to this winter's indoor world champion one, winning with a championships record of 44.15 s. Still I regret the absence of the European record holder M.Hudson-Smith. G. Tual won the 800 m in a clever tactical race with 1:44.87.

When it comes to 1500 m and 5000 m the situation in Europe tends to become monotonous. J. Ingebrigtsen won both races (3:31.95 and 13:20.11) just as he had done two and six years ago. What is funny is that Ingebrigtsen, has never won the world title over the shorter distance, beaten in 2022 and 2023 by british runners, Wightman and Kerr, respectively. (They had finished 4th, 5th and 6th in the 2019 World's, in a race won by T. Cheruiyot). The 10000 m race saw the victory with 28:00.32 of south-sudanese D.L. Lobalu, who is now running for Switzerland but was previously member of the refugee team. (His victory is not really a surprise since his personal best is a quite respectalble 27:13). When the Europeans are held in the year of the Olympics a semi-marathon race is replacing the full Marathon one. There was an italian triumph in Rome with Y. Crippa and P. Riva trusting the first two places, 1:01:03 and 1:01:04, and leading Italy to a team victory. The team of Israel was second, a team composed entirely by ex-ethiopian runners.

I was a little bit sad when M. Trajkovic could not make it to the final of the men's 110 m hurdles. The race was won by L. Simonelli with 13.05 s, while reigning A. Martinez could do no better that fifth. K. Warholm won easily the 400 m hurdles with 46.98 s. W. Happio, who was silver medalist in Münich, exited at the semis, due to an unlucky drawing of heats, despite registering the 7th time overall. French runners dominated the steeple race obtaining even a one-two in the men's event with A. Mielet and D. Bedrani with times 8:14.01 and 8:14.36. 

The relays held no surprise. Italy dominated the 4x100 event winning in 37.82 s. Greece was present in the final thanks to the new rule that whenever a withdrawal is announced before the race the athlete or the team is replaced by the next one in the qualification order. Belgium won the men's 4x400 m event in 2:59.84 (and this time with just one Borlée in the team).

D. Asher-Smith confirmed her position as the leading European sprinter winning the women's 100 m with 10.99 s, ahead of E. Swoboda and Z. Dosso, 11.03 s for both. P. van der Weken would have been a suprise Luxembourgish medalist, had she repeated her 11.00 performance in the semis. With 11.04 s she was fourth beating the reigning champion G. Lückenkemper. (And less than a month later van der Weken celebrated her first Diamond League victory). M. Kambundji held off D. Neita, 22.49 to 22.50 s, to win the 200 m race. P. Emmanouilidou, at just 20 years of age, made her first major final. She was one of the two runners to qualify on the basis of their time, the other one being H. Parisot who went on to win bronze 22.63 in the final.

The 400 m was one of the best races of the championships. I would have bet on gold for R. Adeleke but N. Kaczmarek race was just perfect. In the end she won with 48.98 s to Adeleke's  49.07. L. Klaver, based on her bad experience in the mixed relay, played it safe and ran a cautious first half, being rewarded with a 50.08 s and bronze medal. And one athlete I am going to keep an eye on is 18 years old L. Manuel for Czechia who was fourth with 50.52 s.

K. Hodgkinson took an early command of the 800 m and she was never threatened. She won easily with 1:58.65. Now we'll have to wait and see what she will do in the Olympics in the absence of her arch-rival A. Mu. G. Reekie may have figured as the main favourite of the 1500 m race, but my preference went to C. Mageean. And I was right. She won in 4:04.56 by running cleverly, bidding her time and passing between Bell and Reekie on the final stretch. E. Guerrero paid the price of launching her attack too late just missing out on the medals while Reekie finished a diappointing 5th. N. Battocletti started by winning the 10000 m in 30.51.32 (and Italian record) and then went on to double her haul by winning also the 5000 in a championships record of 14:35.29. K. Grovdal won the semi marathon in 1:08.09 but that was not enough for her and she went on to win silver in the 10000 m.

When Samba-Mayela won the world 100 m hurdles indoor title in 2022 I was somewhat reserved. After all she was an almost unknown athlete who might have had a lucky day. But when she confirmed this year with a silver in the Glasgow indoors it was clear that she had to be taken seriously. Still, the favourite was M. Kambundji who was in top form. And she proved this in the final with a 12.40 s European U23 record. But Samba-Mayela was unbeatable. She flew through the race and finished with in 12.31 s, a championships record and fastest time in Europe since more than 20 years. Reigning champion P. Skrykowska was third with 12.42 s, followed by C. Sember 4th 12.56 s and N. Vissser 5th 12.72 s.

F. Bol did not have to push herself to win the 400 m hurdles. She finished in 52.49 s, which is still a championships record. Most European tv commentators like to present her as serious threat to S. McLaughlin. But I beg to differ. Bol is a great champion but McLaughlin is still greater. The only one who could beat her was D. Muhammad back in the day. (I don't remember a more exciting race than the duel Muhammad-McLaughlin in Doha during the 2019 World's). 

Just as in the men's race there was a french victory in the women's 3000 steeple, A. Finot winning with 9:16.22. (Reigning champion L. Gega could do no better than 5th place). I haven't followed the Friday morning session and so I had missed the "accident" of F. Renaud. I learned about this by my Décapassion friends F. & P. Gousset. Running in qualifiers F. Renaud was totally exhausted at the end of the race and when it came to the river jump she could not negotiate it and she fell in the water. She managed to finish the race but it was too late for the qualification. 

Great Britain won, as expected, the 4x100 relay in 41.91 ahead of France, 42.15 s, and the  Nethelands 42.46 s. The dutch team was the incontestable favourite for the 4x400 m title and they won indeed in 3:22.39, ahead of Ireland 3:22.71 and Belgium 3:22.95. They were also the favourites for the 4x400 m mixed relay but there they lost to an amazing Irish team (probably due to a rather slow leg by Bonevacia and Klaver who was trapped by Adeleke into running exceedingly fast the first half). Be that as it may, Ireland had a great 49.53 s split by Adeleke and, most importantly, an amazing 49.40 s anchor by S. Mawdsley. Italy was second in 3:10.69 and the Netherlands third in 3:10.73.

And, please, don't ask about race-walking.

Anna Cockrell's vibrant tribute to Dalilah Muhammad

I was visiting P.J. Vazel's blog just two days after the end of the 2024 T&F US Trials and I stumbled upon this video by Anna Cockrell (initially published by M. Pullins). She had just qualified for the Paris Olympics in the women's 400 m hurdles race and there was an interview while the three medalists were still on the turf. The first time I saw the video the sound was off and I was captured by the intensity of Cockrell's body language. I turned the sound on and I found out that the words of Cockrell were a tribute to that great champion, D. Muhammad, who was probably participating in her last Trials.

Cockrell said that she was "emotional" but she wanted to take a moment not to talk about herself but about Muhammad, who had revolutionized the event. She said

"The impact you've had on this sport goes beyond medals, goes beyond records. Your grace, your poise, your competition, your mentorship of me — I can't say thank you to 'De' enough, I want to give her her flowers now".

And her words resonated deeply inside me. So, let us start from the beginning. Sydney McLaughlin burst upon the international scene when she qualified for the Rio Olympics at just 16 years of age (where she exited at the semis). I remembered her name from the previous year when, being just 15, she had won the World U18 championships.

Form that moment I started following her. She could not make the team in 2017, finishing 6th in the Trials, but two years later she came back as one of the favourites. The women's 400 m hurdles at the 2019, Doha, World's is one of the most breath-taking races ever. (I suggest that you track it down in YouTube and watch it). Muhammad prevailed in a new world record. But that was to be the last defeat of McLaughlin in a major competition. 

In 2021, in the Tokyo "2020" Olympics, the tables were turned. McLaughlin won with both herself and Muhammad dipping under the previous world record. It was at that point that I started really appreciating Muhammad. (Go and watch the replay of the 2021 race). Muhammad, knowing that McLaughlin is stronger at the finish, led the race at a very fast pace, hoping that McLaughlin will not have the reserves for a final surge. It turned out that McLaughlin was even stronger and she could win in the end, but I was impressed by the clever race (and the risk-taking) of Muhammad. 

Dalilah Muhammad had been the best woman low-hurdler for many years. It started in 2007 when she won the World U18 title. She was silver medalist at the 2013, Moscow, World championships. She did not make the US team in 2015, finishing 7th at the Trials, but was back in 2016, qualifying for the Olympics and winning the gold medal in Rio. In 2017 she had to contend herself with silver in the London world championships, when she could not follow the final sprint of K. Carter (whose subsequent career make the world title look as a fluke). 

Following the Tokyo Olympics it was clear that the number-one hurdler was now McLaughlin and Muhammad would have trouble keeping the second place given the blooming of F. Bol. (And there was even a domestic danger as we will readily see). Being world champion Muhammad had a pass at the 2022 Trials. They were won by S. McLaughlin in a new world record time and I noticed the arrival of a new talent, B.Wilson, who made the US team on her first participation in the Trials). The world 2022 title was won by McLaughlin in a fantastic 50.68 s world record, with Muhammad obtaining bronze.

There were again World Championships in 2023 (due to the disruption caused by the epidemic). McLaughlin and Britton opted for the flat 400 m, trusting the two first places in the Trials with 49.74 and 49.79 s. None was going to shine in Budapest due to injury: McLaughlin did not make the trip and Britton was eliminated at the heats. The title was won by Bol, Muhammad exiting at the semis. It was more or less clear that the 2024 Trials would be the last attempt of D. Muhammad at a qualification for a major event. The event was won by McLaughlin in 50.65 s (a new world record) with A. Cockrell second, 52.64 and J. Jones third, 52.77. S. Little (double world silver medalist) was fourth, missing once more an olympic qualification and Muhammad sixth. (Britton, injured again, missed the trials).

The interview at the beginning of this post was just after the race, with the three winners still tired from their effort and A. Cockrell, who is training together with Muhammad, seized the occasion to acknowledge the impact on  the discipline of the great lady, who is reaching the end of her career. In her longer, post-race interview she even burst into tears speaking about her training partner.

I haven't really be following A. Cockrell over the years. Although she had won the world U20 champion title in 2016 I was surprised to see her as member of the US team in Tokyo. (She made the final but was disqualified for lane violation). But she had been steadily improving: exiting at the semis in 2016, 8th in the final in 2017 and 6th in 2019, she secured a place in the team in 2021. She just missed in 2022, finishing 4th in the Trials but rebounded in 2023 finishing 3rd and going on to finish 5th in Budapest. After her second place this year and her excellent performance, it is clear that I am going to keep an eye on her during the Paris Olympics.

And going back to the beginning of the article, Ato Boldon, who is responsible for the Inside Athletics podcast at the World Athletics site, tweeted that the best interview of the US Trials goes to Anna Cockrell. I couldn't agree more.

Pierre de Coubertin: l'homme qui n'inventa pas les Jeux Olympiques

This is the title of a book by Aymeric Mantoux which was published last month. It means that de Coubertin is not the person who invented the Olympic Games. To tell the truth, I find the title somewhat awkward. After all, nobody (not even de Coubertin himself!) claims that he was the one who had the idea of the Olympic Games. The title that de Coubertin's hagiographers grant to the baron is that of the "renovator", being the one who revived the Olympics after a 15-century hiatus. 

First, let us get the facts straight. De Coubertin was not the first to have the idea to revive the ancient Games. There have been several attempts prior to his but none turned up to be viable. I am now convinced that, one day, I should tell the real story of how the modern Olympics came to be. How de Coubertin, aiming at introducing physical education in the french educational system, stumbled upon the idea and was lucky enough to have the support of Greece (something that he spurned once he did not need it anymore) going on to spend his life rewriting history and pretending that he singlehandedly revived the Games. But you have to give it to him, by hook or by crook, he managed to prevail and make the modern Olympics durable.

I read the book and I must say that I did not learn much. There is not much that was not known before. De Coubertin was an aristocrat of his time with deeply ingrained racist beliefs. He tried to follow a military career but he failed his admission exams at the Saint-Cyr officers' school. (In his "mémoires" de Coubertin maintains that he did not present himself at the oral part of the exams due to a last-moment change of mood but the St. Cyr archives tell a different story). We know that he usurped the phrase "citius, altius, fortius", from the dominical preacher Henri Didon and used it as the motto of the IOC. And the famous phrase "the important thing in the Olympic Games is not so much the winning but taking part" was filched from Mgr. Ethelbert Talbot. (This sentence is in stark contrast with the ancient greek attitude towards competition, where the important thing was victory. If de Coubertin was the hellenist he pretended to be, he would never had adopted such a maxim).

I have written on several occasions on de Coubertin's misogynism. It certainly goes hand in hand with his racist beliefs about the superiority of the white race. Where things become interesting in Mantoux's monograph is concerning the relations of de Coubertin with the nazi Germany and Hitler in person. The letter below was discovered in the ex-DDR archives by the german historian Hans Joachim Teichler (author of the book "Internationale Sportpolitik im Dritten Reich", alas in german).

The letter, written in March 1937,  addresses Hitler as "excellency" (which reminds me that an IOC president, J.A. Samaranch, insisted that he be addressed as "excellency") and expresses his gratitude to the german regime for their contribution to his jubilee in the promotion of sports (I don't how de Coubertin was counting the 50 years necessary for a jubilee). He goes on to accept the invitation to visit Germany in spring, as soon as his health improves. De Coubertin never made this trip to Germany: he passed away in 1937. In fact, he did not even attend the Berlin Games, but two years before he visited upon invitation the site of the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. And with de Coubertin's benediction, Garmisch-Partenkirchen was selected again for the 1940 Winter Olympics.

The links of de Coubertin to the nazi regime are numerous. In 1935 de Coubertin delivered a speech on the german radio on the philosophy of the Olympism, insisting on his aristocratic, elitist, religious aspects aiming at the "triumph of the will". He obtained financial support of 10000 marks from the german government (roughly 100000 euros in today's value), being destitute at the time, upon order of Hitler himself. The square at the south entrance of the Berlin olympic stadium was named Square P. de Coubertin. An Institute for Olympic Studies was planned following discussions between de Coubertin and H. Esser, vice-president of the Reich (but following de Coubertin's demise and the War the project was shelved). De Coubertin was proposed by the nazi government for the Peace Nobel Prize. (That was meant to counter the proposal of C. von Ossietzky, an opponent of the nazi regime who was held in a concentration camp. To no avail. It was Ossietzky and not de Coubertin who obtained the Nobel). 

The main contribution of the book is to remind everybody that de Coubertin was, at best, an ambiguous person, lest we forget the important facts, seized by an olympic exuberance. 

He was never honoured by the French State, he was never awarded a medal (although his family maintains that it was the baron who refused all decorations). On two occasions, overzealous de Coubertin admirers proposed that his remains be buried to the Panthéon where "A grateful nation honours its great men". 

The first was on the occasion of the 1968, Grenoble, Winter Games, when the french member of the IOC, J. de Beaumont, suggested this to de Gaulle. The latter refused diplomatically saying the "that the idea is interesting, but de Coubertin is hardly Jean Moulin" (a leader of the Résistance who was interred in the Panthéon in 1964).

The second proposal is a more recent one by writer (academician) E. Orsenna and ex-olympic champion (and member of the IOC) G. Drut. One of their arguments that I find really pathetic is the one based on women's right to vote. Orsenna points out that de Coubertin granted women the right to participate in the Olympics 20 years before they acquired the right to vote. Alas, everything is wrong in this statement. As I explained in great detail in my series "the long and arduous road of women to the Olympics" de Coubertin never accepted the presence of women in the Olympics. They entered the 1900 Games because the baron did not have a saying. He fought tooth and nail their presence during the 25+ years of his presidency at the IOC. The number of women participating in the Games started increasing only after de Coubertin stepped down. And to cap it all, it's not because France had a retrograde attitude  towards women, who started to be able to vote only after 1944, that this is a universal truth. New Zealand had granted voting rights to women even before the first Olympics. Fortunately, E. Macron refused the proposal, just like de Gaulle half a century before.

On June 23rd, the IOC president, T. Bach gave a talk in a ceremony organised in the Sorbonne, in Paris, where de Coubertin staged his "olympic" conference in 1894. The president of the French Republic and the Sports Minister had already announced that they would not attend. A french journalist summarised aptly the (french) attitude towards de Coubertin during the Paris Games:

"The important is to participate and not mention his name"