Report #8 From Outdoor World Championships

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BERLIN , GERMANY. - A few notes from late last night and this morning.
 
Briefly, this a.m., with more to come later. Julie Culley ran well in the 5,000 heats, ran in sixth, but in the last 1,000 faded- looks like she didn't qualify. Jen Rhines had the lead with two to go, and finished around seventh. Five automatically qualified- I'm pretty sure she made it.
 
Thanks to Jim Grogan for pointing out (my memory is almost as bad as my typing) that Erison Hurtault went to Columbia, not Rutgers.
 
Good crowd at the stadium this a.m., with decathlon taking place. Estonians are out in full force, all dressed in the blue T-shirts with their favorite athlete's picture on the front. Germans of course love the ten-eventer.
 
I was out for a run (jog) at 6:10 this morning- the Kenyan women, scheduled to run at 10:45 were shaking out a bit in the park (and not slowly).
 
Last night, after I wrote, there was an impromptu celebration inside the stadium, as Steffi Nerius came out with Sptoakova, and the two of them jogged along the backstretch, posing for pictures while the place went crazy. The nationalistic Czechs even had a Steffi chant.
 
Shannon Rowbury eveidently fell during yesterday's trial, appealed, and was advanced to the semifinal.
 
As I was leaving the stadium, a crowd of around 50 Czechs entertained the crowd leaving with their horns, drums, and chants- yelling, screaming, very boisterous, and a few probably had too much to drink.
 
I don't understand too much Czech- only a few basic phrases- my parents used to speak it at home when they didn't want the kids to know something. I only know how to chant PIVO-PIVO!!! (beer)
 
Speaking about beer and the Czechs, they consume more per person than any other country in the world. Why not- they make the best.
 
Another interesting point. The real Budweiser (not the stuff that's brewed in Missouri) comes from Cesky Budejovice (Budweis in German), which is located in southern Bohemia. It's been around since around 1250 A.D. The US Budweiser can't sell its brand in Europe (there have been lawsuits) advertising itself as the original Budweiser. They have to sell it as Bud, which we know is inferior to the original Czech brand. We beer drinkers drink the best, and its not made by Anheuser-Busch.
 
Just thought you'd like to know. 
 
Elliott Denman and I went to a luncheon yesterday sponsored by the World Athletics Final committee of Saloniki, Greece, which was held at a restaurant in a forest on a lakefront. It was taking one back in time to around 1890, when the elite probably gathered there to get away fromn the city. They put out some good food- I ate a bit.
 
Men's 1,500 final tonight. Lagat and Kiprop. Kiprop is the real talent now, but Lagat is cagey, and smart. Mehdi Baala of France is always in the mix. And Choge, the little guy, is always around. it should be good. Also, the men's discus- the Estonians will be going crazy over Gerd Kanter, and the finals of the women's 100-hurdles, and the women's 800, which should be a real open race.
 
More later.
 
GK

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