Athletics

Athletics

Sandybee said:
It’s a bit sad that it’s not as popular as it used to be. I think that athletics has got a bit of a reputation for drug enhanced performances, and it’s going to take a lot to change it back. And we’ve just had the Commonwealth Games as well, so that hasn’t helped. Come to think of it, there were quite a lot of absentees in Glasgow, and it was a restricted event calendar too.
I can remember going to the 3As’ championships at the White City years ago, it seemed like it was more or less full up!
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Apparently Cat A tickets are over £100 rising to £150 for the last 2 days of competition. Bit rich for my blood.
 

Athletics

JANORAK said:
Sign of the times, and they are professional athletes, the cream of Europe. How much, by comparison is a day’s Test Cricket nowadays? (I haven’t been for years.)
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Agree, but how much they deserve, and how much they can command are (unfortunately) two different things.

And yes, Test Cricket is very expensive these days, but they can always sell out, in England, at least.

In the end, the organisers of such events need to judge the market and if they are only half-selling an 18k seater stadium in good weather and the school holidays etc, then I'd say they've got something wrong.

While the Sunday Times revealed that the British competitors aren't been given the 1, 2 or 3 complimentary tickets they normally get for friends and family. Seats are available for them to buy in a Reserved section, but some athletes were quoted up to £150 each for the remaining tickets on their chosen day.

While today's Times has the headline: "£150 seats (and £18.50 pork rolls) lead to empty seats at the European Championships". (Can't read it myself, paywalled)
 

Athletics

Gawain said:
While today's Times has the headline: "£150 seats (and £18.50 pork rolls) lead to empty seats at the European Championships". (Can't read it myself, paywalled)
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The organisers of the European Athletics Championships have come under fire for low attendances in the first three sessions, with Keely Hodgkinson’s coach and Amy Hunt’s agent among those citing high ticket prices of as much as £150.

Hunt won European gold in the women’s 100m on Monday night in front of half-empty stands, with BBC commentator Steve Cram expressing his dismay.
“A little disappointing in terms of spectators, I have to say that,” he said in response to Hunt’s triumph. “Particularly down the back straight there. There’s not very many people at all in those stands.”

The Birmingham 2026 local organising committee, run principally by British athletics chiefs, insists there were just over 13,000 fans in the stadium on Monday night but the 23,000-capacity Alexander Stadium looked less than half full, with the timing slightly unfortunate given the London bid team are due to make their pitch for the 2029 World Championships to Lord Coe and his colleagues at World Athletics on Friday.
There were plenty of empty seats in the stands as Jemma Reekie, of Great Britain, competes in the 800m heatsALEX LIVESEY/British Athletics via Getty Images
For the early sessions, category A tickets in the main stand have been priced at £110, with category B tickets costing £90. Weirdly, there has been a better occupancy of those seats than the cheaper £40 and £60, category D and C, tickets.


“Crazy prices,” wrote Hunt’s agent, Nick Harwell, in a post on X. “Such a shame.”

While Jenny Meadows, who with her husband Trevor Painter coaches Olympic 800m champion Hodgkinson and the favourite for the women’s 1500m, Georgia Hunter Bell, said on the same platform: “Hearing from fans re high ticket prices, parking issues and even people not knowing it was taking place.”
Birmingham city centre does feel a little light on promotion, with access to the Alexander Stadium also seemingly an issue.
Hunt, second from left, was in action yesterday but the stadium looked less than half-fullStuart Leggett/News/AlamY
The ticket prices are nothing like as expensive as the thousands being demanded of fans by Fifa for this summer’s World Cup but the costs do nevertheless mount up. Spectators are being charged £22.50 to use the park-and-ride scheme, while it costs £17.50 for a park-and-walk option that involves a 45-minute hike to the arena. There have also been complaints about the food, with a barbecued pork roll costing £18.50.
A spokesperson for Birmingham 2026 defended the pricing, with a total of 170,000 tickets so far sold and close to full capacity expected later in the week.


Compared to, say, football, it is relatively cheap to see some of the most talented athletes this country has produced in decades.
The organisers stressed that 50 per cent of tickets were priced at £30 and lower, with adult tickets starting at £10.
“Birmingham 2026 is delighted with ticket sales for the championships, which have far surpassed our targets,” they said. “Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening sessions are approaching sell-out, with several other sessions close to capacity. There are still opportunities to be part of the championships at incredibly good value, including the ‘Mondo’ £6.31 children’s ticket for Friday morning — named in honour of his world record — while a family of four can attend for as little as £30.”
Radio presenter Sonja McLaughlan cited her concerns on social media, with the top price due to rise to £150 for the last three days of competition.
“Actually a bit shocked at the type of prices being charged,” she wrote. “It’s a shame for the athletes, who deserve better. The sport has this precious window without football, free to air television exposure and it looks flat with such a sparse crowd.”


It did not help that, on Monday night, the departure from the stadium by car coincided with the closure of the M6 between junctions 10 and 11, causing huge disruption to anyone driving north.
 

Athletics

Used to think I was fairly aware of what was going on in the world of athletics , but just got in & saw GB bagged gold & silver in the 100m. I now realise I’m clueless as I’ve not heard of either of them😥
 

Athletics

longtimeagobee said:
Used to think I was fairly aware of what was going on in the world of athletics , but just got in & saw GB bagged gold & silver in the 100m. I now realise I’m clueless as I’ve not heard of either of them😥
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I watched the semis and final of the 100. Like you, hadn't heard of either. The hot favourite Jacobs pulled up.

But there is a chasm in quality between the Euros and the Worlds/Olympics in the 100m. The winning time tonight wouldn't have even got him near the final in the other championships in recent years.
 

Athletics

Hippobee said:
I watched the semis and final of the 100. Like you, hadn't heard of either. The hot favourite Jacobs pulled up.

But there is a chasm in quality between the Euros and the Worlds/Olympics in the 100m. The winning time tonight wouldn't have even got him near the final in the other championships in recent years.
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Unlike the women, male sprinting in Europe has fallen into a trough, currently. Jacobs has been, and can be, very good. Increasingly, his body is failing him more and more often though. He has little competition, and unless a ‘late bloomer’ comes along, we might end up waiting for the next batch of juniors to mature.
 

Athletics

Hippobee said:
I watched the semis and final of the 100. Like you, hadn't heard of either. The hot favourite Jacobs pulled up.

But there is a chasm in quality between the Euros and the Worlds/Olympics in the 100m. The winning time tonight wouldn't have even got him near the final in the other championships in recent years.
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That would have sent the punters crackers 🤦‍♂️

:redcard:
 

Athletics

Suffering from the nation having more than 5 channels to keep us amused during an evening…. Back in the day it was all that was on and everyone forced to watch then discussed at work etc experts for a week. Now without the forced viewing of the past nobody gives a toss about people running, jumping and throwing things around.
 

Athletics

Hullbee said:
Suffering from the nation having more than 5 channels to keep us amused during an evening…. Back in the day it was all that was on and everyone forced to watch then discussed at work etc experts for a week. Now without the forced viewing of the past nobody gives a toss about people running, jumping and throwing things around.
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Doesn’t explain the continued popularity of Darts. (Might as well televise dominoes in my view, but I accept I’m a minority.)
 

Athletics

JANORAK said:
Doesn’t explain the continued popularity of Darts. (Might as well televise dominoes in my view, but I accept I’m a minority.)
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Drinking, singing and shouting out loud. The darts is incidental.
 

Athletics

The award ceremony for the medals is pathetic
It’s done on a stage which looks like a shed. The flags of the winning participants looks like they’re stuck on a wall. It really does look tinpot.
What’s happened to the flags being raised on a flagpole with the athletes looking on proudly.
Why have they moved from the tradition? Is this political?
 

Athletics

halibutbee64 said:
The award ceremony for the medals is pathetic
It’s done on a stage which looks like a shed. The flags of the winning participants looks like they’re stuck on a wall. It really does look tinpot.
What’s happened to the flags being raised on a flagpole with the athletes looking on proudly.
Why have they moved from the tradition? Is this political?
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Last night after the 100m, the gold and silver medalists were doing their interviews just a few minutes later and I noticed they were already wearing their medals. I wondered whether there was even a ceremony at all. Haven't seen one.

I would agree that having no flags, anthems, etc demeans the occasion.

Despite organisers trying to talk up ticket sales, what I've seen of this championships hasn't been that great. TV coverage by the Beeb is average too, with far too much banal chat on the sofa and not enough live action. For example, last night, they were talking up the British long jumper who had made the final. For the next 2 hours, we barely saw any long jumping at all and no mention again of the Brit all evening!
 

Athletics

Hippobee said:
Last night after the 100m, the gold and silver medalists were doing their interviews just a few minutes later and I noticed they were already wearing their medals. I wondered whether there was even a ceremony at all. Haven't seen one.

I would agree that having no flags, anthems, etc demeans the occasion.

Despite organisers trying to talk up ticket sales, what I've seen of this championships hasn't been that great. TV coverage by the Beeb is average too, with far too much banal chat on the sofa and not enough live action. For example, last night, they were talking up the British long jumper who had made the final. For the next 2 hours, we barely saw any long jumping at all and no mention again of the Brit all evening!
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Amy Hunt was given her medal after her race but I saw her ceremony the following day. I didn’t see the medal re- presented then.
 

Athletics

halibutbee64 said:
The award ceremony for the medals is pathetic
It’s done on a stage which looks like a shed. The flags of the winning participants looks like they’re stuck on a wall. It really does look tinpot.
What’s happened to the flags being raised on a flagpole with the athletes looking on proudly.
Why have they moved from the tradition? Is this political?
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It's not political, it's Birmingham.

Anyhow, on the topic of "stuff they put on telly these days", tonight's athletics on the BBC is up against... wait for it ... Manchester Utd vs Leeds Utd live on ITV. In a pre-season friendly. In Dublin. For two hours prime time.

And it's ITV1 i.e their main channel :eek:

Other sports must really HATE football.
 

Athletics

halibutbee64 said:
The award ceremony for the medals is pathetic
It’s done on a stage which looks like a shed. The flags of the winning participants looks like they’re stuck on a wall. It really does look tinpot.
What’s happened to the flags being raised on a flagpole with the athletes looking on proudly.
Why have they moved from the tradition? Is this political?
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Might be wrong, but it’s been doing this for years , it’s every 2 years and athletics only. It’s squeezed into a week with little time for ceremonies
 

Athletics

Oh wow.

Very real possibility that Jonathan Edwards triple jump world record could be beaten.
 

Athletics

4th best triple jump of all time - incredible.

I'm in France and they were interviewing in the mixed zone for the 90m javelin throw, and it looked quite threatening from the high jump end!

Add in some good track races - especially the 10000 - it's been a great night!
 

Athletics

Typical BBC. End programme before we see the conclusion of the women's high jump.

Great relay wins, btw.
 

Athletics

JANORAK said:
At one point I thought it was like the elimination race in cycling! 25 runners doing 25 laps, and stepping out of the race all over the track.

Championship record for the Swede (Ahlgren?)
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We said the same, getting him an extra 20 points. :LOL:
 

Athletics

filmyfan said:
Great Men's 10k
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I thought it was more like a procession than a race. In the end, the finish was a massive anticlimax. I couldn’t distinguish the winner from the other athletes who still had a lap to go! As for the Brits, they were definitely the also-rans, and hardly got a mention after a few laps.
The relays were great though, especially the (winning) British women’s team. What a performance!
 

Athletics

ppobee said:

View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcEyTxcuI2N/?igsh=MTJsb21rNmluazJyOA==&igsi=MTJsb21rNmluazJyOA==
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Wow! That's almost balletic. Or do I mean ballistic?

Anyhow, I listened during the week to Greg Rutherford analysing a long jumper's action in the Euro's and the level of technique which has to be learned/applied to every single stage of the process was astonishing. And when I say "stage", it was down to the level eg of how you apply each individual footstep (weight, distance, speed), with it varying markedly right along the length of the runway, from start to takeoff. And I'm sure he was simplifying it for uninformed listeners like me.

And that was only the long jump - how much more complex must it be for the triple jump?
 

Athletics

Gawain said:
Wow! That's almost balletic. Or do I mean ballistic?

Anyhow, I listened during the week to Greg Rutherford analysing a long jumper's action in the Euro's and the level of technique which has to be learned/applied to every single stage of the process was astonishing. And when I say "stage", it was down to the level eg of how you apply each individual footstep (weight, distance, speed), with it varying markedly right along the length of the runway, from start to takeoff. And I'm sure he was simplifying it for uninformed listeners like me.

And that was only the long jump - how much more complex must it be for the triple jump?
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Rutherford has grown on me this week. After getting over his early appearance looking like he'd been dragged through a hedge, I have found him to be by far the most articulate, engaging and knowledgeable pundit this week. Far better than the likes of Backley and Ennis-Hill.

On to tonight. A good chance to finish top of the medals table. I don't remember seeing a mixed 4 x 100 relay at a champs before. Surely we must be favourites for that after the individual events and other sprint relays.
 

Athletics

Huge congratulations to Abbie Donnelly, the first Brit to win a medal in the women's marathon. I used to train with her partner, who I am still friends with. You could tell she'd go far (not a marathon pun) from training around her in Lincoln.

Lovely lass, lovely couple and thoroughly deserved for all her hard work and dedication!

www.bbc.com

Abbie Donnelly wins GB's first ever women's marathon medal at Europeans

Abbie Donnelly became the first British woman to win a marathon medal at the European Championships as she claimed bronze in Birmingham on Sunday.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 

Athletics

Gawain said:
Wow! That's almost balletic. Or do I mean ballistic?

Anyhow, I listened during the week to Greg Rutherford analysing a long jumper's action in the Euro's and the level of technique which has to be learned/applied to every single stage of the process was astonishing. And when I say "stage", it was down to the level eg of how you apply each individual footstep (weight, distance, speed), with it varying markedly right along the length of the runway, from start to takeoff. And I'm sure he was simplifying it for uninformed listeners like me.

And that was only the long jump - how much more complex must it be for the triple jump?
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Triple jump is a perfect blend of speed, strength, balance and technique (as are some other events such as the 110m hurdles, and perhaps the discus). When it is done perfectly, as here, it is visual poetry. Jonathan Edwards' WR is as perfect a sporting performance as I have seen, which is why the record still stands - Hernandez might break it, but that looked like his perfect jump to me, so he might find it difficult to add those extra 15cm (he can find some of it on the board).

A real high point of a suprisingly good champs.
 
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