2022 Outdoors

[trickstat]

Manchester has been a handy compromise for the English Schools with Birmingham unavailable and Don Valley having gone. I think Gateshead is a better facility but its location makes it a nightmare for the south-west and south coast in particular.

[trickstat]

Mu has had Covid which may be a factor.

[Sovietvest]

Adele has officially switched to Jamaica (see her WA profile). I wonder if she’ll do the 8/15 double now? Ironically, it should free up spaces in the GB team but because of the importance of WA rankings it actually now makes it less likely Ellie Baker will get selected because Adele will now appear above her on the 800 ranking list.

[jjimbojames]

I think previous years won’t tell the true story for the WC - attendance at USTAF if the WC/OG are in another country will be higher. If you wait a month, you get to see the US stars and the global ones, for the same air fare. Who wouldn’t do that. British Trials in 2017 had lower attendance than the WC.

As for the British Champs - I would put money that attendance would be higher in Birmingham than in Manchester. I feel for the people north of Birmingham, having to travel far and wide so much, but the sport needs to be in a location most people can and will travel to without too much of a travel time. English Schools is at Manchester in a few weeks, and the vast majority of counties will be hoping for a return to Birmingham, I’m sure - I imagine parent attendance will be lower than Birmingham.

[marilyn1]

I mean, what were the attendances at the UK champs. Do we think that is representative of the likely crowds at the CGs next month?

The US champs are less than a month ahead of the WCs in the same location.

I think people forget at times quite how large the US is. Oregon alone is bigger than the whole of the UK in terms of land mass, with only 4m people in it (so about 1/16th of the UK population).

Unless you live in Oregon, two trips there in the space of a month is going to be very expensive for most people.

If the numbers are low next month, it's a fair criticism. But it's kinda unsuprising that they are low for this meet. Disappointing, sure. But unsurprising.

The track fans in both the locale, wider oregon and the USA are also upset and surprised and I have not seen your points expressing reasons fully replicated. Somebody mentioned the attendance figures as much larger at the old Hayward Field a few years back for a major national meet.
A cool windy day at Manchester doesnt really compare with the high quality meet a couple of weeks before the WC in very pleasant weather and the alleged support for the sport in the area. Apparently some fan said the price of seats was 100 dollars. A similar plethora of posts by fans on Letsrun recently was very pessimistic about the future of the sport in the USA as to spectators. I wonder if we could have seen our nationals having a bigger attendance if the trials had been at Birminghsm or a refurbed CP or even London's OG Stadium.

[marra]

More depressing than I thought possible were the official spectator numbers for 4 days at Eugene's track and great athletics
No day was more then 3600 ,the max for one day. We now know this years WC spectatator figures are a maximum in the Stadium of 17000.zThe Amercans promised 30K and the WA accepted it

I mean, what were the attendances at the UK champs. Do we think that is representative of the likely crowds at the CGs next month?

The US champs are less than a month ahead of the WCs in the same location.

I think people forget at times quite how large the US is. Oregon alone is bigger than the whole of the UK in terms of land mass, with only 4m people in it (so about 1/16th of the UK population).

Unless you live in Oregon, two trips there in the space of a month is going to be very expensive for most people.

If the numbers are low next month, it's a fair criticism. But it's kinda unsuprising that they are low for this meet. Disappointing, sure. But unsurprising.

[marilyn1]

I don't think Abby Steiner should focus on the 200 (and DEFINITELY not the 100) with her sluggish starts. She'll have to face both the Namibian intersex athletes and the Jamaican Stephen Francis products in the future, and I can't see her beating them... at least not on a consistent basis. Her future lies with the 400 IMO. She'd be scary fast in that event.

She has amazing foot and comes on at the end with outstanding speed. She says that she has not been disadvantaged by her massive progress this year.

[marilyn1]

I would not be surprised id somebody else,like Moraa surprised. She ran sub 51 and 1.57 low at the Kenyan trials.

[Chafford1]

DAS is running the 200 against DN and Kambundji in Stockholm.

[LuckySpikes]

Mu isn't in the shape she was last year. She's been very conservative in the third 200, perhaps not confident of pushing it there in case she's spent for the last 200. If Keely can get herself in tip-top shape by Eugene I feel quite confident that she'll beat Mu (and Wilson, though I don't see her as a big threat to Keely).

[Chafford1]

Have to echo this, Wilson almost had Mu there. Athing still a hot favourite, but I could see Ajee or Keely beating her.

A touch of complacency by Mu by the look of it. She was still able to on the afterburners in the last 20 metres of the race to win. I doubt this will happen again in the World Championships.

[treadwater1]

The equation is still pretty tough, instead of it being a scrap for silver and bronze with ETH the likely winner, its now looking more likely a scrap for bronze behind the two Jamaicans. Ofili hasn't shown her hand yet. I thought Steiner would have run out of gas by now but she hasn't so I can't see why she can't keep going for another few weeks

[LuckySpikes]

Mu is beatable at Worlds. Keely should go in with that attitude (I'm sure she will)

Absolutely she is (I've been saying it all season). Our American friends on the T&FN forum have built her up into some unbeatable goddess without considering a) that she may not be as good this year and b) Keely may be better than last year. So far this year, the former looks true whilst the signs from Keely's indoor 1:57.2 indicate that the latter may also be true if she can get 100% sharp in 3 weeks' time.

Tactics will be key - nearer the time, I'll outline how I think Keely wins (hint : the 100m between 500 & 600 is where the first key move needs to be made.)

[MR_ME]

It will be interesting to see Dina's 200m at the Diamond League this week. That will a good indicator of if she is contention for a medal.

[Ladyloz]

Haven't totted up numbers and compared with other years or anything but my feel is that more College athletes than usual have gone on to perform well at USAs and qualified for the team. Will be interesting to see how many perform well at Worlds.

If I was to pick 1 college athlete to do really well in Eugene it would be Trey Cunningham. Yes he's been running plenty but he's just been running sprint hurdles not doubling up in other events and relays like Steiner. He is a really great technician "silky smooth" as a certain Welshman might say. Holloway should have run the final last night and made a statement to his rivals as Noah Lyles did. Great win for Roberts but he's very inconsistent and Devon Allen looked like he may have picked up an injury.