Football and cricket overshadow athletics here
Hero the Hedgehog, the official mascot for the IAAF World Championships London 2017, embraces a young visitor outside the London Stadium, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, on August 2, 2017. PHOTO | ADRIAN DENNIS |
What you need to know:
- For these championships, IAAF have, for instance, introduced a “Spikes” bot on Skype which will cover all the aspects of the championships, including tracking individual athletes.
- IAAF have also gone big on social media, streaming their officials press conferences live on Facebook along with highlights and live action from major championships as they battle to shore up the fan base.
- Meanwhile, I must confess, the Red Devil in me still has one eye on that 38-pound (Sh5,130) train ticket to Manchester.
IN LONDON
The new, 2017-18 English Premier League season starts next weekend just when the IAAF World Athletics Championships rise to their climax at the London Olympic Stadium on Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford.
In fact, next Friday, across London, Arsenal will launch their campaign at The Emirates at home to former fairytale champions Leicester City at 7:45pm, local time, the same time when the finals of the men’s hammer throw, women’s steeplechase and women’s 200 metres will be on the menu at Stratford.
And next Sunday, on the final day of the World Championships programme, I will have to get myself on a leash to avoid the temptations of taking the three-hour train ride from London to Manchester for the Red Devils’ 4pm season opener against West Ham United.
Indeed, the same day, I will also have the option of dashing off on the four-hour train ride from London to St James’ Park in Newcastle upon Tyne and watch Harambee Stars’ skipper Victor Wanyama in Tottenham Hotspur’s lunch-time kick-off against Newcastle United.
Such is the competition for attention that athletics is facing, with British media dedicating acres of space and hours of airtime on pre-season football banter, from the arrival of Nemanja Matic at Old Trafford, to the want-away Alexis Sanchez asking for a “sick off” as he contemplates his departure from The Emirates.
Cricket is also getting generous play in the British media.
In fact, there has been more said about Moen Ali than Usain Bolt, after the former, an English off-spinner, took a hat-trick of wickets to lead England to victory against South Africa in their third Test match.
And with the fourth Test starting at Old Trafford on Friday and England in an unfamiliar position, leading the series 2-1, rest assured the opening day of the athletics championships, also on Friday, will be relegated to the third or fourth lead story.
Nonetheless, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is cognizant of this and has launched a spirited effort to innovate and make the sport more appealing, especially to the younger generation.
For these championships, IAAF have, for instance, introduced a “Spikes” bot on Skype which will cover all the aspects of the championships, including tracking individual athletes.
IAAF have also gone big on social media, streaming their officials press conferences live on Facebook along with highlights and live action from major championships as they battle to shore up the fan base.
Meanwhile, I must confess, the Red Devil in me still has one eye on that 38-pound (Sh5,130) train ticket to Manchester.
And I’m sure IAAF President Seb Coe will sympathize with my position because, after all, despite being a former Olympic champion and record holder, he was once bitten by the football bug and sat on the Chelsea FC board of directors.
I will pop by the IAAF VIP area next Saturday to confirm if Seb will indeed be there, or perhaps might have sneaked out to Stamford Bridge to join Roman Abramovic in the air-conditioned directors’ box for the champions’ 3pm season opener against Burnley.
