Is it just me, or does this meet have a bit of a ho-hum feel? We've already seen these matchups in Paris and a half-dozen other times this season and it just doesn't feel fresh any more.
I have to be honest, this is my biggest worry about the Grand Slam Track concept... Are we going to be jaded by the tenth Kerr-Hocker-Nuguse matchup of the season?
[writing this before the 800, so maybe still an outside chance for something truly memorable]
The only issue is that this is all after Paris. The big one has already come and gone and we know who the Olympic champion is. If all of those matchups are before the big championship theres always gonna be a question going in of who will end up being the best of the best.
Is it just me, or does this meet have a bit of a ho-hum feel? We've already seen these matchups in Paris and a half-dozen other times this season and it just doesn't feel fresh any more.
I have to be honest, this is my biggest worry about the Grand Slam Track concept... Are we going to be jaded by the tenth Kerr-Hocker-Nuguse matchup of the season?
[writing this before the 800, so maybe still an outside chance for something truly memorable]
Just texted my mate: "this meet is rude all round". I felt the same way about Zurich to be honest and once upon a time that meet and here in Brussels were just the most exciting meets to either be part of or watch.
I've said this before - the Diamond League format helps average meets like Xiamen, Rabat, Doha - even a meet like Rome now, but it hurts the great meets like Zurich and Brussels in particular in a few ways. Firstly these meets not having full control over their event lineup and where they can funnel their money really sucks. Case in point, no mens 800's this year in Zurich which was always THE meet for 800m running every single season. Secondly, and this is obvious with Brussels as we have seen this year, not having control over your fields is absurd. This McLaughlin situation highlights this perfectly - having her there running in a "promo" race in tights and trainers where she ends up running faster than your season "final" race 11 minutes later adds zero value. Finally - because they are part of a series and basically the "playoffs/Superbowl" of a 15 meet series means they have to be on so late at a time when especially in an Olympic year, everyone is just tired. In the year 2000 Zurich was held on the 11th of August, Brussels the 25th - 3 weeks earlier. That makes an astronomical difference.
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