Jon on Zurich: “I Love Pre, But [Weltklasse] Was Better”- What's Your Favorite Track Meet?

For once in history I agree with RoJo. Pre is miles better than any other US meet. The crowd is the most knowledgeable crowd anywhere, perhaps even including Europe. When Keni Harrison shot out of the blocks at last year's meet, by hurdle 4 everyone in the stands was...well, standing...we KNEW she was threatening the WR. No announcing needed. The only two who weren't on their feet were the track newbs next to me, but even they could sense somthing special underway. The quality of every event is the best, even deeper than the major EU DL meets although the very early season timing means worldclass peaking is awkward.

I have been to the meet several times but not yet during a realistic distance WR effort. I want to hear that crowd begin their chant of "PRE! PRE! PRE!" regardless of who is attempting that record....

One or two points for consideration. The event is so tightly orchestrated it's easy to miss PV if you're on the TJ side but OTOH it gets done in 2h 30m and then we can all head down to Willamette for beers. Katherine Merry's role as mistress of ceremonies is mildly annoying, although not as bad as Colin Jackson on BBC.

Oops that was WeJo posting, not RoJo. Same point though, I hardly ever agree with these guys.

Ran at Zürich 4 times. It was the best meet by a considerable margin UNTIL the ripped out the stadium and built a new one. The old stadium was just so weird and sh$tty with the stands on the curves having that weird inverted slope roof and the backstaight stand being so steep and close to lane 8 but that's what made it awesome. The acoustics in the stadium made it sound like 60'000 people were there even though there were only 22. Alas as soon as the new stadium was built and they took on the stupid diamond league format it ruined everything. Zürich was just so epic because it was really like the world champs in one day. You used to have basically every track event except for a 10'000 on, 2 800m races that went anywhere from 1.42-1.43 were common and almost every race was set up to attack WRs. I can't even believe now they don't have an 800 an 1500 in the same meet there. So lame. Lausanne was also very sweet (still is and maybe better than Zürich now actually) and of course Brussels which puts on the best overall show in terms on being an event. My favorite track was a small venue in Finland called Lapeenranta which has this weird old blue track that was so old and they painted over - it was like a hybrid mondo/conica surface. All the MD guys loved running there because it was just a super fast surface that always had good times even though it was a tiny meet.

salvatorestitchmo wrote:

So lame. Lausanne was also very sweet (still is and maybe better than Zürich now actually) and of course Brussels which puts on the best overall show in terms on being an event.

I've been to Lausanne and Monaco once. How can you say Lausanne is comparable to Zurich competitively? I'd say that's a huge stretch.

as for this:

PositiveSplit800 wrote:

For once in history I agree with RoJo. Pre is miles better than any other US meet.

The question might be what's the #2 meet in the US? Unless you want to go with some relay carnival or a US champs, are there any others in the US people really like?

You know a meet is the best when SFH collapses on the infield in last meters of the final of the World Champs in order to "Save it for Zurich".

Maybe I need to get out more. CA high school state meet is my favorite. I hate being reminded how much more money Buchanan high school has than our district, but it's a great venue and loaded with talent.

wejo wrote:

salvatorestitchmo wrote:

So lame. Lausanne was also very sweet (still is and maybe better than Zürich now actually) and of course Brussels which puts on the best overall show in terms on being an event.

I've been to Lausanne and Monaco once. How can you say Lausanne is comparable to Zurich competitively? I'd say that's a huge stretch.

Big boy - Firstly I never said it was on par competitively - I was talking about as an overall meet and I still prefaced that statement with a big "maybe".

Firstly I would reiterate that if we think Zurich now is good in terms of performances it pales in comparison to what it was like from about 1975-2005. Actually as of right now you are just as likely to see a WR in Lausanne as you are in Zurich. In fact since the year 2000 Lausanne and Zurich have both had 2 WR's. 1 in each stadium from Isanbeyeva and a 100m from Powell (Zurich) and 110H from Xiang (Lausanne).

I could also add in that Lausanne has seen 5 Diamond League records including the 100m (Blake) and 400m this year with WVN. Zurich? 3 - and two of those are 4x100 relays which let's be honest don't really count because Zurich is the only meet that really puts one on.

So actually I could make a case that right now Lausanne is more than comparable to Zurich competitively.

What I did say was that the old stadium played a huge roll in Zurichs folklore. Running in the same odd-shaped stadium as Lewis, Reynolds, Ottey, Coe, Cram, Mutola, Walker, El G (I could go on) was a huge appeal for people who actually ran there. It lost it a bit with the new stadium which is beautiful but doesn't have the ghosts of those legends as part of it's fabric. Lausanne has a different appeal which is the incredible setting with the Alps in the background and on a warm summers night, there aren't many settings that beat Lausanne.

So in my opinion, and you should trust it because I know more about the sport than you do, a lot of the guys actually prefer Lausanne as a meet these days than they do Zurich. Just saying brah.

Great thread. Just before we got married, early 90s, my wife and I traveled to see two European meets,Cologne (no longer exists) and Zurich. Great atmosphere at both stadiums. Saw two WR, both by Moses Kiptanui, first in the 3000 at Cologne, then three days later in the Steeple at Zurich. Saw Bubka just miss 20' right in front of us (yes, this was the old stadium, we were in standing room section on the turn), Quincy Watts ran well into the 43's, and many other great performances (carl lewis, mary decker, some great triple jumping). We love watching the fantastic meets in all the little stadiums and great ones; I'd place Eugene, Monaco (what a stadium!), and Brussels right up there--however, for the crowd, the atmosphere, the performances, I give the edge to Zurich.

One of the coolest moments of the whole trip was watching groups of Kenyans warm down around the lighted soccer fields outside the stadium--jogging very slowly around the fields, over and over, just after midnight.

The meet I like best is called the Olympics.

Seriously, I watched the 2003 World Championships in Paris and it was amazing.

When I think of Zurich, I think first of this race:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LNaTgPnPfI

It was like watching a man walk on the moon for the first time.

Kiptanui had just been the first man to steeple under 8:00, but there was no joy for him as he watched his 5000 record get punted into outer space.

Zurich was always a great meet, even in the old stadium. Sounds like they have beefed it up quite a bit with entertainment. With that said, dude, you really need to get out more. Even as you describe it, Zurich would be in the bottom half of my top-10, even excluding the global championships. I will that there is nothing comparable to an Olympic or WC event final. As track purist, my greatest excitement comes from athletic competition, that alone puts Pre above Zurich. The USA is the best track and field nation, practically all of our top athletes are there. That gives Pre tremendous talents and depth in every event. Less than 1/3 of the top U.S. athletes go to Zurich. Also, most of the top athletes in world are at Pre. Need I say more. Zurich obviously made a huge impression on you, but you simply can't call a meet the best when such a small percentage of the top athletes were there. Only about a dozen of the world champions showed up, it didn't produce any world leading performances, etc.

I guess a lot depends on what you are looking for in a meet, but for me in no particular order, here are some meets with incredible value:

IAAF World Relays

Penn Relays

Jamaica High School Champs

Millrose Games

NCAA Championship

Monaco

I went to last weeks meet in Zurich, and had a great time. Doing this was a bucket list kind of trip, as it was my first European track meet. I attended LA 84 and Atlanta 96, and Pre in the late 70's, Millrose a few times, the biggest other meets beyond local stuff. My seat was fantastic, front row on the top of the backstretch, directly across from the TJ/LJ pit and near the 1500 start. It was difficult to see the PV and SP at the far end, but the view was great right down there. And the atmosphere was electric, as they say. The crowd was chanting and cheering, especially for the high jumpers. To bad Tamberri went ou early, he reaal wound up the crowd. The light show, the music, the fireworks and the parades were icing on the cake, after getting to see the brilliant athleticism of the compeitors up close. I bought my ticket through the meets' friends program. I also watched the womens PV in the Station, that was fun, too. Sure, it's disappointing that there wasn't a full program of events, but this is a great event to see.

I was at Zurich this year and 2016. I can understand the excitement of a first time visitor as the event is really spectacular. It's a motivating track and field experience to be surrounded by so many fans of the sport. Very classy fans.

Lots of children (the coaches and track team connection) and young (hot) fans. This is not the jeans and t shirt crowd of Switzerland.

Close to the track seating you find sections of screeching girls begging the athletes for a picture.

This years edition of Zurich produced any number of great moments, Sir Mo Farah's heart pounding final race among the selection.

The Zurich event makes you feel the sport is alive and thriving with a bright future ahead.

Amazing athletics, fireworks, amazing capacity crowd, beautiful stadium, beer, EXCITEMENT. trolley car ride back to the hotel.

So yeah, I can see why Zurich would blow the mind.

I have Been to Pre many times, it is really great but the Friday night race can be a bit lackluster and it's not full capacity many times. I was disappointed with TrackTown a bit.

The Jamaican School Champs are amazing but exhausting over a week. And the noise is overwhelming. But I will say the Jamaicans are REAL track and field fans. The only place I have been where I witnessed the doormen at the hotel talking about track and field and argue about who should be on the relay. In Jamaica its is not uncommon to find yourself talking about track at the pub with the bartender or some other patron.

PositiveSplit800 wrote:

Pre is miles better than any other US meet. The crowd is the most knowledgeable crowd anywhere, perhaps even including Europe.

They are pathetic regressive octegenarians who humiliate their country with their inability to handle metric marks. A festering time-warp of ignorance.

Not trolling. Athletics is metric by default. If you're knowledgeable, that's what you use, and nothing else.

Bad Wigins wrote:

PositiveSplit800 wrote:

Pre is miles better than any other US meet. The crowd is the most knowledgeable crowd anywhere, perhaps even including Europe.

They are pathetic regressive octegenarians who humiliate their country with their inability to handle metric marks. A festering time-warp of ignorance.

Not trolling. Athletics is metric by default. If you're knowledgeable, that's what you use, and nothing else.

Pre is a great meet, but in order to get my wife to come, I have to incorporate some time in Napa or Lake Tahoe. You have to keep in mind that a meet only last a couple of hours. There really isn't much to see in Eugene and when you live on the East Coast, that's pretty far to travel for just a meet. You can't fly into Eugene, you have to rent a car and drive from Portland. Eugene has very few upscale accommodations, which I don't need, but my wife does and probably some fans as well. When I go to Penn or Millrose, besides a great meet, I really enjoy hanging out in Philly or NY. I went to the IAAF Relays in April, you get to vacation in the Bahamas and then watch a great track meet. You see guys like Coe, Vin and Frazier hanging out with their families. Btw, the IAAF Relays is a great experience and might be the most underrated meet. Jamaica is also a cool place to hang out if you go to Champs. The same can be said for Zurich and Monaco or just about any of the DL meets, they are all in great locations. The biggest problems with Pre is a stadium only track purist love and the city of Eugene.

In terms of a knowledgeable crowd, my normal seating area at the Penn Relays for many years was surrounded by T&F hall of famers. Not so much anymore because of the large Jamaican contingent, which makes it difficult to get good seats. This is similar situation at Millrose. Not to mention LA, home of the '84 Olympics and perennial track powerhouses like USC and UCLA. I don't want to take anything away from Pre, but in my opinion those fans in general are actually less knowledge than Penn and Millrose. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Pre and the DL meets in general have a lot of regular people (great fans), but most of the fans at Penn and Millrose have a direct connection to the sport either as an athlete, ex-athlete/coach or parent of an athlete, etc. I had a casual conversation with Vin once about the whole notion of Eugene (Track Town) being the epicenter of USA track & field. He agreed with everything negative I had to about that concept, albeit he still feels passionate about Eugene being the meca USA track & field.