World Championships Day 2: Celebrity Day at the Track

Day 1

Now that I can hear again (see previous post), it’s once again time to play track!

Today has been busy, tomorrow is much worse! I have a 3 AM wake up call so I can be at the marathon venue by four, for a race that starts at six. When we’re done closing the venue at 10, we then hustle back to the stadium for the women’s hundred meter hurdles heats. We’ll be at the stadium until two, and then a few hours off before coming back for the evening session. 

And another early morning marathon on Monday. 

I demand a doubling of my pay!

Done. 2 x 0 is still 0. 

This is the clean version of my room.

Great exchange with our running referee, Antonio from Spain. I asked if he was in the Olympic stadium in ‘92 for the 1500m where his countrymen Fermin Cacho won the gold medal. 

Alas no, however he did tell me a great story. Evidently Cacho was nowhere to be found before the final, when his coach finally discovered he was playing cards in the basement of the hotel. The coach yelled at him saying he was about to miss the final but Cacho simply shrugged his shoulders and said “I’m going to win this game and then I’m going to win the race.“ And he did! One of my favorite races of all time.  

Very pretty day out here.

We might actually have a full house today!

One of many swag vendors around the track  Felipe, place your order!

 

Polish runner Karol Zalewski is a dead ringer for my swimming buddy Sean. 

You know things are heating up when the vuvuzuelas start screaming!! Getting loud already. 

A man came near my post between events and asked me to take a picture of him. No problem…then I turned around to see his companion standing there. This one….

That’s Jackie Joyner Kersee, owner of a bunch of Olympic hardware. 

Donovan Brazier, reigning 800m world champion. I’ve DQ’d him a bunch for stepping on the line. Last time, I was overruled, so he went to the indoor world championships and got DQ’d…for stepping on the line. 

These kids today…

Craig Engels, 1500m runner, who keeps shifting his look from porn star to J. Crew….he’s now back to the original look. 

Shelley Ann Frasier Pryce, 2008/2012 gold medalist. 

This guy used to jump for a living. Pretty good runner, too. 

Nice sweep of the men’s 100 m. As I’m walking out, I hear a woman behind me saying to her young son that Usain Bolt was the first man to break 10 seconds. 

I don’t think so.

Signed,

Jim Hines, 1968