FloridaGators.com's Zach Dirlam will bring you on-site coverage from London for the entire World Championships.
Good Morning From London: Day 1
Thursday, August 3, 2017 | Track and Field
LONDON – Gooood morning, reader. With that terrible Robin Williams impression now behind us, welcome to the first edition of our daily blog at the IAAF World Championships, which FloridaGators.com writer Zach Dirlam will deliver to you, each morning, from London. (Yes, that's me and I'm really across the pond.)
Think of this as your one-stop shop for everything the 15 Gators (#LondonGators on Twitter and Instagram) are up to in London.
Need to know who's competing and how to watch? We have you covered. Want the best tweets and Instagram posts? No need to search or scroll through your apps; we will have them right here. Cannot be bothered to wake up for the 5 a.m. sessions? Go ahead and sleep in. By the time you're pouring yourfirst second cup of coffee, all the pertinent updates will be waiting for you.
First up: media day.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion triple jumper Christian Taylor (2009-11) was one of six athletes chosen for the United States Track and Field press conference Thursday (Aug. 3) morning.
Per usual, a tremendous buzz surrounds Taylor as he prepares to take the world stage. Talk of breaking the world record follows Taylor everywhere. The chatter is louder than ever in London, largely because Great Britain's own Jonathan Edwards still holds the record (18.29 meters / 60 feet, 0.25 inches) he set in 1995.
Taylor boasts the second-longest (18.21 meters / 59 feet, 9 inches – nearly the entire distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound on a baseball diamond) and third-longest (18.11 meters / 59 feet, 5 inches) marks in history, with the latter coming earlier this year at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.
Action in London begins Friday night (afternoon in the United States) and runs through Aug. 13.
Highlights from media day, along with a humorous piece of traveling advice from the author are below.
Who / How to Watch Friday, Aug. 4
Quote of the Day
"I'm a little disappointed (breaking the world record) hasn't happened yet. I believe this is my time. It would be very, very sweet to do it on Jonathan's soil. I know he's going to be watching. He's given me some things that maybe could help me get the distance.
"I've also heard it's his son's birthday (the night of the final). I'd love to give him this gift." – Current triple jump world leader Christian Taylor on potentially breaking the world record in next Thursday's (Aug. 10) final
Photo of the Day
Social Media Roundup
Author's Entry: A Piece of Travel Advice
If offered to you on a flight, always take the hot towel.
I didn't take the hot towel.
The kind, cheery elderly couple next to me—Richard and Margie—took the hot towel. As Margie closed both hands around it, she let out a blissful cackle. Regret washed over me like a waterfall. Light steam rose from the towels, and as the flight attendant passed another to Richard, my regret turned to agony. The hot towels even smelled fantastic. My nose caught a fleeting whiff of lavender. Or maybe it was fresh linen. I'll never know for sure. It was too late for me. I already declined the hot towel. One simply cannot request a hot towel after forgoing the initial offer.
I didn't take the hot towel. And as my mind wandered throughout the seven-hour flight from Atlanta to London, it constantly reminded me of this sad mistake.
Don't be a fool like me. Take the hot towel.
Think of this as your one-stop shop for everything the 15 Gators (#LondonGators on Twitter and Instagram) are up to in London.
Need to know who's competing and how to watch? We have you covered. Want the best tweets and Instagram posts? No need to search or scroll through your apps; we will have them right here. Cannot be bothered to wake up for the 5 a.m. sessions? Go ahead and sleep in. By the time you're pouring your
First up: media day.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion triple jumper Christian Taylor (2009-11) was one of six athletes chosen for the United States Track and Field press conference Thursday (Aug. 3) morning.
Per usual, a tremendous buzz surrounds Taylor as he prepares to take the world stage. Talk of breaking the world record follows Taylor everywhere. The chatter is louder than ever in London, largely because Great Britain's own Jonathan Edwards still holds the record (18.29 meters / 60 feet, 0.25 inches) he set in 1995.
Taylor boasts the second-longest (18.21 meters / 59 feet, 9 inches – nearly the entire distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound on a baseball diamond) and third-longest (18.11 meters / 59 feet, 5 inches) marks in history, with the latter coming earlier this year at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.
Action in London begins Friday night (afternoon in the United States) and runs through Aug. 13.
Highlights from media day, along with a humorous piece of traveling advice from the author are below.
Who / How to Watch Friday, Aug. 4
- Online Streaming (NBC Sports Gold): 3-5:50 p.m. [Track Events] / 3:30 p.m. [Long Jump feed]
- TV Broadcast: 1-5 p.m. (Olympic Channel) / 7-9 p.m. (NBC Sports Network – tape delay)
- Live Results
- Men's Long Jump qualifying [2:30 p.m.] – Marquis Dendy (2012-15), United States
- Men's 100 meters quarterfinals [3:20 p.m.] – Hakim Sani Brown (Class of 2017), Japan
Quote of the Day
"I'm a little disappointed (breaking the world record) hasn't happened yet. I believe this is my time. It would be very, very sweet to do it on Jonathan's soil. I know he's going to be watching. He's given me some things that maybe could help me get the distance.
"I've also heard it's his son's birthday (the night of the final). I'd love to give him this gift." – Current triple jump world leader Christian Taylor on potentially breaking the world record in next Thursday's (Aug. 10) final
Photo of the Day
Social Media Roundup
.@Taylored2jump on whether he needs the world record for closure... so he can become a quarter-miler??? ??#GatorsAlways #London2017 pic.twitter.com/2Dkej7eTkq
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) August 3, 2017
2x Olympic medalist from London 2012 is in the @NBCSN interview hot seat! @WilliamClaye #London2017 @usatf pic.twitter.com/hgnnWUtZ37
— Todd Harris (@TheToddHarris) August 3, 2017
Already seeing that world record being broken! #ImJustSaying !???? https://t.co/hKla0KG2mL
— Yanis David (@Yaniis_Dav) August 3, 2017
LONDON ??#BlessedAndGrateful pic.twitter.com/sKTZklyrbq
— Kyra Jefferson?? (@kyruhjeff) August 2, 2017
???? @Hakimsanib https://t.co/yfZeBB7sGT
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) August 3, 2017
Preview: men's 400m hurdles – #IAAFWorlds London 2017 https://t.co/tHSgqhsJ1I pic.twitter.com/WsJlJu9xPt
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 2, 2017
Author's Entry: A Piece of Travel Advice
If offered to you on a flight, always take the hot towel.
I didn't take the hot towel.
The kind, cheery elderly couple next to me—Richard and Margie—took the hot towel. As Margie closed both hands around it, she let out a blissful cackle. Regret washed over me like a waterfall. Light steam rose from the towels, and as the flight attendant passed another to Richard, my regret turned to agony. The hot towels even smelled fantastic. My nose caught a fleeting whiff of lavender. Or maybe it was fresh linen. I'll never know for sure. It was too late for me. I already declined the hot towel. One simply cannot request a hot towel after forgoing the initial offer.
I didn't take the hot towel. And as my mind wandered throughout the seven-hour flight from Atlanta to London, it constantly reminded me of this sad mistake.
Don't be a fool like me. Take the hot towel.
Players Mentioned
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/ Track and Field
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