Rio 2016: The Decathlon dazzels & why I got it wrong!

I started following athletics in the 1980s when Crystal Palace stadium (not Selhurst Park that's football) hosted the great international meetings. I saw Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Backley, Steve Cram, Steve Smith, Steve Jones (just kidding re last 2!) but despite Daley Thompson's heroics I didn't get the decathlon. On TV it came across aas athletes doing 10 sports not as well as the specialists. When I decided to buy additional tickets for today it was for the relay heats and the evening races including the 200m men's final. I thought it might be interesting to see how the decathlon progressed.

I WAS WRONG!!!!! (doesn't happen very often) the decathlon is a fascinating test of stength, agility, speed and versatility. Above all you need stamina. It breeds cameraderie. There are twists and turns as the scores change and in any round an athlete can get knocked out if he fails to score. Heartbreak. Throw into this mix a defending Olympic athlete, a Brasileiro top 10 athlete ... If you have to compare it to Mr Bolt well, it does go on for a lot longer. Blink and you miss the 100m, rub your eyes and that's the 200m gone! The decathlon lasts two days.

The first event I witness was the high jump. Fascinating how for the events athletes are split into pools so that one height moves more quickly than the other. As suspected you start seeing characters and rooting for different athletes. The Japanese enthusiastic, determined regarding the high jump. The Algerian who jumped the highest with a seasons best but didn't continue to save his strength for later.

The discus didn't excite me but that was probably because the athletes were opposite me so I couldn't really see them other than the screen and I couldn't do my favourite of guess the distance! It was the Pole vault was amazing. I've never been up close to one before and the warm-up alone was worth the price of a ticket. Running, testing the poles, jumps with a cord, without a cord. 2 pools again. Take a look.

Then the Australian won me other by being the only one to comfort the distraught Czech who went out without a clearance. The Belgian sat through 2 hours of competition with only 2 jumps because he is that good. The French no. 2 who remained on the track to keep the French No. 1 company. The disappointment of the Australian in not getting higher, the passion the Brazilian crowd had for their athlete.  The sheer determination and inscrutabality of Eaton and Warner the Canadian.

I was lucky I was in the shade. I still ended up with a bit of a headache because of the incessant heavy beat music playing throughout. At times it was difficult to hear the commentary. I'm old-fashioned I know but I believe that music should be used to enhance, to make a point, it's not constantly needed. Do javelin throwers need electronic moving through the air sounds. Doesn't the arc of a javelin make its own image and drama? Where does that leave the crowd if you cannot hear them?

It was during the javelin that you really saw how things could change with the rankings going up and down. The Cuban took the stage, the Brasileiro go the loudest cheers but his throws seemed like an anti-climax until you realised he'd thrown a Personal Best.

The first heat of the final event seemed like a jog until you saw at the end that many of the athletes could no longer stand. One of the Germans collapsed in pain and I think they might have brought out a wheelchair for him. The second was more of a race and then the medealists were announced. Yet you had had a feeling that the bond between these athletes was so strong that it was almost more important to be an Olympian. There was a lap of honour led by Eaton and the Brazilian. They stopped and thanked the crowd and then they lined up, took hands and took 3 bows. Thank you gentlemen for thanking us, we thanked you.