El Bakkali was planning to get close to the WR in Silesia but he feared the weather conditions, then he opted for Monaco and later withdraw from it to not have too much races in 20 days.
Next year Olympics are his priority but this dosent mean he will not attempt an historic fast time (at least for his country).
Bol has one of the smoothest running styles of any I've seen. She makes it look effortless. Her strength at the finish, as she showed in the hurdles and last relay, is also extraordinary. The mixed relay performance was out of character for her.
I think that she is extremely good at keeping it smooth until she collapse.
So not really out of character, just surprising when it happens.
So "surprising" in fact it hasn't happened to her before. Which is out of character.
I did though think about how much it sucked for the 3 other athletes in that Dutch mixed 4x4 team that were cost $20k by her falling over her own feet just meters before the line. Not sure they are on the same runway as Femke in terms of $ they make from the sport.
I'm not digging at Femke here - it was a freak moment and super unfortunate, but as she won that womens 4x4 for them there was a part of me that was wondering how those other 3 must have felt. Bummer.
Klaver was shocked. I've never seen sustained facial expressions like that from her. She was supportive during interviews but did say she had her own emotions about the result.
The young guy Ikkink probably was impacted the least. He thinks he'll have many more chances. This was a breakthrough year for him. I'm sure he's thrilled that he's established on the relay and now trusted as the men's anchor.
Unquestionably Liemarvin Bonevacia was impacted the most. I posted the photo earlier of the devastated look on his face. Bonevacia is known as a showman in the Netherlands and would have thrived with the tag world champion for the rest of his life. Bonevacia is 34 and planned to retire after Paris but now it looks like he might stick around one more year, because Netherlands was awarded the 2025 European Indoor Championships.
There was actually a 4th impacted in Terrence Agard, who ran a prelim leg in place of Bonevacia. Agard is likewise near the end of his career at 33. Klaver was jarred by the result partially because it had double impact on lost medals. She is a couple with Agard.
Yeah it soothed her wounds! Not sure about those other 3 who ended up with a big old check for, uh, nothing and had to wonder why she couldn’t have even just run a half second slower and stayed on her feet.
Yeah it soothed her wounds! Not sure about those other 3 who ended up with a big old check for, uh, nothing and had to wonder why she couldn’t have even just run a half second slower and stayed on her feet.
Runners aren't necessarily thinkers. Some of them seem to race in a state of sustained panic. I guess it's a version of the "flight" rather than fight instinct.
So "surprising" in fact it hasn't happened to her before. Which is out of character.
I'm guessing it was her second anchor leg of the day and the hot weather got her. It can happen to anyone.
It was only one lap - not a 10k. I think the pressure got to her more. She tightened badly and appear to seize up. But she showed a much cooler head in her subsequent races, and especially the relay, where she didn't go out too hard too early to try to catch the leaders. Her judgement was better and it allowed her superior finishing strength to come through. It was a truly great effort - and under even more pressure!