Garden Clashes are great. But watching athletes run around a 40 m circuit is not the most exciting spectacle, although I confess that I followed it with great interest: that's what withdrawal is doing to you. Having a competition in a real stadium, even one with a stunted program, a scarce participation and a bizarre choice of events feels like a return to normalcy. The Impossible Games in Oslo did just that: they gave us the feeling that Athletics is back on track (sorry for the pun).
I must say that I was somewhat sceptic when I first read about the Bislett Games metamorphosis into Impossible Games. It turned out that the competition did take place indeed and with quite some success. Of course, you have to make abstraction of the empty stadium and of the fact that only a handful of athletes were participating. On the other hand the organisation, not being a mainstream Diamond League one this time, allowed the organisers to offer events which are only rarely contested (plus one innovation with the team Ingebrigtsen-team Cheruiyot duel).
The field events were rather poor, with just one jump, a pole vault at a distance duel between Duplantis (who was present in Oslo) and Lavillenie (jumping in his backyard). Seeing Duplantis jump, one had the impression (confirmed by himself) that he is not at the top of his condition. Moreover it is my impression that he is jumping with a stiffer pole and he is not yet fully accustomed to it.
The main event of the competition was the 300 m hurdles solo race of K. Warholm. It was superbly executed and the world record he established with 33.78 was amply merited. For those who wander about the time difference between the 300 and the 400 m hurdles I must point out that the 300 has only one bend compared to two for the 400 m.
Warholm on the way for a world record
I did particularly like the women's 300 m hurdles. S. Petersen prevailed over A. Iuel (an athlete whose progress I am following) 39.42 to 39.44 but it was a close thing. L. Sprunger was third but I did like the idea that she ran with 13 strides between hurdles, while women usually take 15 (in the case of 400 m). Of course her 1.83 m do help. I just hope that she continues with her experimentation with this reduced number of strides.
Petersen and Iuel at the finish line
Another much expected moment of the competition was the duel at a distance between the norwegian team of the Ingebrigtsen's and the kenyan one led by Cheruiyot and Manangoi. The Oslo race was an occasion for me to see for the first time the Wavelight luminous pacer. It has been touted by World Athletics as an innovation that will enable the athletes to better target a specific pace and also add greater value to the spectator experience. Now the question is, will such a system be allowed in official championships? I guess we'll have to wait for next year. Coming back to the race itself, well, there was practically no race. The three Ingebrigtsen finished well ahead of the first kenyan (Cheruiyot), with Jacob establishing a new European record over 2000 m with 4:50.01. Of course one must take into account that the kenyans were running in Nairobi, a city at 1800 m of altitude and with very bad weather conditions.
Notice the yellow lights on the kerb of the track: they are the Wavelight pacer
The one intriguing thing in this competition was the 10000 m solo race of Th. Johaug. She is last year's norwegian champion over the distance and in Oslo she improved substantially her record with 31:40.69. (The entry standard for the Tokyo Olympics is 31:25.00). Johaug is a world-class cross country skier having won gold in both the World's and the Olympics. Is she trying to reorient her career? Does this have anything to do with her doping violation for which she had been banned from October 2016 till April 2018? Time will tell.
The Impossible Games were a most uplifting moment amid the general epidemic-induced moroseness. Now we have to wait for the real start of the season, planned for mid-August.
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