Good Morning From London: Day 3, Usain Bolt's Finale
Sunday, August 6, 2017 | Track and Field
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A morning recap and a blog with an inside look at the iconic sports moment from last night
By: Zach Dirlam
LONDON – (Sips cup of tea and waves.) Hello there. Day three across the pond at the IAAF World Championships in London for FloridaGators.com writer Zach Dirlam, running purely on bacon rolls and Earl Grey tea following consecutive days of morning and night sessions. Saturday (Aug. 5) night's Usain Bolt sendoff kept this writer at the stadium extended hours as well (more on that at the end of today's blog).
However, my fatigue is wonderful for fans of the 15 London Gators, because it means they are putting me to work, with five advancing to semifinal races Sunday (Aug. 6) morning alone. Two Gators compete in events tonight, including the first World Championships shot put finalist in Croatian and Gators history: Stipe Zunic.
Before you were even thinking about your beverage of choice this morning (probably while you were still dreaming, actually):
Reigning Olympic gold medalist Kerron Clement (49.46 seconds) and USATF Outdoor Championships bronze medalist TJ Holmes (49.35) both won their 400 hurdles preliminary heats to earn automatic semifinal berths—Holmes' time ranked fourth overall Sunday morning
2017 American and two-time NCAA champion Eric Futch (49.57) finished fifth in his 400 hurdles preliminary heat, but advanced to the semifinals as the second-fastest non-automatic qualifier; he entered the mixed zone thinking he failed to qualify (see Photo of the Morning for more)
Six-time World Championships medalist and four-time Olympic medalist Novlene Williams-Mills took third place in her 400 meters preliminary heat, automatically qualifying for the semifinals with the fourth-fastest overall time (51.00)
2016 Olympian Eddie Lovett (110 hurdles), representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, ran a season-best time of 13.41 seconds to finish third in his heat and automatically advance to tonight's semifinals
Photo of the Morning
Our World Championships photographer, Jeff Cohen, loved the setup of this photo. We loved the gut-wrenching emotions undoubtedly circulating below the surface.
Soundbite of the Morning (additional quotes in Social Media Roundup)
Author's Entry: Usain Bolt's Grand Finale, Through the Eyes of a Writer
Saturday night's 100 meters final, the last individual race of Usain Bolt's unquestionably all-time great career, was the greatest sporting event I've ever witnessed.
I was too young to remember the Michael Jordan six-for-six era. I wasn't even born until 11 years after the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team stunned the Soviet Union in Lake Placid. I never saw a Muhammad Ali fight. Never watched one on YouTube either. There have been some incredible Super Bowls and national championship games in my lifetime, and I vividly remember Tiger Woods' comeback victory at the 2008 U.S. Open. None of them even come close to what transpired before my eyes last night.
Numerous people stood along the outer concourse overlooking the warmup track for hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of Bolt warming up. (He wisely warmed up on the far side, completely shielded by the massive rows of team tents.)
Fan after fan passed by in a different Bolt-themed shirt. Jamaican flags were everywhere. Jamaican fans occupied the entire section nearest the finish line, all assuming Bolt, known for basking in celebration with the fans following championship victories, would make his way to them immediately after yet another world title.
L??k at this! Walked into London Stadium on my way to my position and...Jamaica....how did you guys get all these finish line seats?!?! ???? pic.twitter.com/DP8mvDIn1a
The applause and cheers were deafening as the public announcer introduced Bolt for the final. The crowd noise could have easily come from any of the loudest football stadiums in America.
Then the music stopped. The crowd fell eerily silent. And I do mean eerie. Nobody whispered. Nobody's seat creaked. Noise was non-existent. There is something unsettling about 55,900 people going completely quiet.
*Bang*
The deafening noise returned. Everyone's attention was paid to Bolt's center lane and the man next to him, Christian Coleman, who led the race until the final five meters. Hardly anyone (in the media tribune, at least) saw Justin Gatlin's surge over the final 40 meters in lane eight.
Maybe 10 seconds passed before times flashed on the scoreboard, revealing Gatlin had won. Bolt finished third.
The aftermath of the race was how I, a newcomer to the world of track and field two years ago, knew I was bearing witness to a historic moment I could not even begin to understand. Yes, I knew Bolt was a legend, a hero within the sport. I remember all his Olympic victories, all the world records. But I didn't expect this.
Moments after Gatlin flexed and let out a victorious scream, he dropped to one knee and bowed to Bolt. The stadium reporter immediately interviewed Bolt on the video board. Bolt took an elongated lap around the stands, stopping for photos with fans for almost 15 minutes before departing for television interviews. Several cheers of, Usain Bolt, broke out. It felt as if Bolt won. It didn't matter to anyone he finished third.
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Another 15 minutes after Bolt's celebration concluded, I stood in the photo and media work room in the stadium's underbelly. The atmosphere was entirely different than the night before, when Great Britain's Mo Farah captured his sixth world title, a massive moment in its own right. That night, everyone was hard at work, only making conversation when necessary. On this night, the chatter and euphoric energy throughout the room was astonishing. Everyone still typed and clicked away, but hardly anyone could stop talking about some moment from the past half hour.
I've never seen anything like it. And I'm not sure I will again in my lifetime.
