Is it just me or was the beginning of the coverage on BBC2 with that rapping **** the worst ever theme opening to a major event. Absolute bilge.
Just watched Mo Farah run the race of his life - what a fantastic athlete, and well deserving of all the plaudits that come his way....the crowd were amazing too, bet you don't get that level of noise when Wet Spam move back in in a couple of weeks!!
Fantastic race and brilliant tactics. Thankfully survived the near fall. Amazing athlete and super role model.
My slight quietness on this site is because, like the Olympics, I have again got a volunteer driver at the paras and now the world athletics. Again it is so exciting...I have had to get John Regis to move his car...been thanked by Saddiq Khan...but most exciting been the personal driver for the whole day to Rebecca Ferguson who performed and sang at the opening ceremony...I'm sure Col will know who she is. Got to say...she must be the most beautiful lady I have seen for many a year...and for a celebrity..so human and lovely. Of to work again now...who will I Cary today
A final thank you to Usain Bolt, who has brought joy and awe to me for over a decade of sprinting. His talent, but above all his attitude, has saved athletics in my opinion. He has the three fastest 100m times ever, and 15 of the fastest 50 times. Every single other sprinter who has set a top 50 time has been banned for taking drugs at some stage or another. I don't usually hold with booing at sporting events, but good on the crowd last night who let Gatlin know what they thought of him both before and after the race. I have heard athletes arguing for life bans (of course, its obvious) then say you can't blame Gatlin, and others, for serving bans and then racing again 'because it's the rules that are wrong'. I'm afraid that I disagree, Gatlin and others clearly have undeveloped human feelings of guilt, shame and personal honour if they think this is a technical issue. Anyway, **** the cheats and respect to Bolt, who's reaction to coming third last night was a shining example of grace and dignity in defeat. And, in my view, he was even better at the 200m. I am proud that he chose to end one of the greatest careers in sport in London.
Massive tension in the BBC studio about whether Gatlin would be booed as he received his medal (he was, a bit, but nothing overwhelming). Surely the question should be what kind of sport would allow him to have been in the race in the first place #shambles. Steve Cram makes the point well, Michael Johnson less so, but both don't touch on the personal responsibility drugs cheats have, going on about the athletics authorities and the media rather than the individual.
I assume that Gatlin will be in the US team. I think Cram was on surer ground, from my perspective. A sport which is redistributing medals from years ago (although good for Jess Ennis getting another gold) has massive problems.
Ideally yes, for Bolt redemption, but Gatlin would probably withdraw. I think the Gatlin abuse has been a bit overdone. On the radio five sports programme this morning, Garry Richardson (a poor excuse for a journalist) tried desperately to trap Sebastian Coe into agreeing that Gatlin shouldn't turn up for the 100m medal ceremony.
The anger shouldn't be at Gatlin but the authorities who allow a two time drug cheat to come back. I'm not usually a big fan but watching it now and it's entertaining.
I thought Garry Richardson just did the Today programme on Radio 4, he's one who likes the sound of his own voice and rates himself as a comedian. Gatlin deserves any abuse he gets, as do any other drugs cheats, or cheats of any kind. I get a bit sick of the sport and it's governing bodies getting stick (as they certainly should) while the individual athletes seem to be absolved. Perhaps it's time for 'clean' competitions, where competitors volunteer for a rigourous testing regime (if we can find someone to pay for it and trustworthy federations to implement it) and 'enhanced' competitions where they can stick whatever junk they want into themselves, and we can ignore the results.
I I think Johnson had a point about the media creating more of a demon with Johnson than was necessary.
Probably not the same Garry Richardson then, the one I'm thinking of is certainly no comedian. Most athletes probably push the drug regulations to the limit. Anyone that is found to have crossed the line should be banned, but there are athletes taking drugs now that may well be proscribed at a later date. How should we view their achievements? I'm not sure 'clean' competitions will ever be possible.
Gatlin is undoubtedly a lightning rod for criticism, and of course the media, particularly ours, hypes it all up. But the twat has been caught twice, and has the gall to keep turning up and taking the money. The sport, the media, the athletes, the coaches/medics......who can you trust? It's such a shame, and I know it's nothing new, been going on for decades, but I'm probably naive in thinking that, such is the purity of the basic competition in most disciplines, that there should be something special about athletics. I should add that I really rate Michael Johnson as a pundit, probably about the best there is for any sport I can think of.
I'm sorry, I'm getting obsessed with this. Heard someone on the wireless this morning (I think it was Paula Radcliffe, but I may well be wrong) describe the booing of Gatlin as an 'oversimplified' response to the issues, implying that the public are too thick to understand cheating. Beg pardon? Man gets caught cheating twice, paying customers make their opinion of his continued presence in competition clear. It IS a simple issue. This mealy mouthed attitude, from athletes, administrators and coaches, is a big factor in the failure of athletics to deal with doping in any convincing way. This tournament will be forever remembered for this crap. I see Gatlin's dad has had a go at the British crowd and Steve Cram for the 'treatment' of his son. Bad ****ing luck mate.
Tonights the real bye by for Bolt, and bye bye to the track for Farah. End of an era, and not in a good way. Way too many pundits involved on the BBC. Johnson is always worth listening to, but Denise Lewis adds nothing, Paula Radcliffe even less. Gabby Logan the blandest possible host. Cram and old man Foster are good commentators though.
I agree on Lewis and Radcliffe. I too like Johnson, Cram and foster, but I don't mind Logan. I think she does a reasonably good job in holding a live event together (not easy!).