Eugene. I thought WC in Eugene would be a great start to Kajsa Bergqvist’s tenure as captain of the national team.
But compared to the unparalleled success of last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, the seal of fiasco is imminent.
Not even a specific gold for Mundo saves Cagsa results.
Cagsa’s predecessor, Karen Tourniclant, saw its declines, such as the 2016 Rio Olympics, which became one of the worst ever. There, Merv Bahta’s sixth place in the 1500m was Sweden’s best ranking, ahead of Sophie Skoog for seventh in height.
Nothing causes any shivers right away.
But Karen finished off a solid performance five years later with an Olympic Games in Tokyo that surpassed all expectations.
Above all, a double win in the discus throw, with Simon Peterson throwing the Olympic silver medal behind favorite Daniel Stahl.
It would have been a fourth medal as well if Thobias Montler didn’t do well in the long final as he landed near Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou’s jump of 8.41 gold.
Now Thobias was ranked seventh at the end, but it was still four places better than here in WC.
It was the same for Fanny Ross in the final shootout.
She was seventh and versus second (11) in points here in Eugene.
Khadi Sanya, Kim Amp, Angelica Bengtsson and Maja Nilsson also reached the Olympic final in Tokyo.
When Cajsa took over as captain of the national team for the season, she got off to a great start with a great indoor toilet in Belgrade in mid-March.
was a pole
It has been Sweden’s best indoor toilet since 2004.
Everyone I spoke to around the team testified to Kajsa’s impact on the team.
I was not surprised.
Kajsa had an amazing winning skull as an active wear and I was sure she would convey the experience she had as a world star and all the routines from the big leagues.
But here in Eugene, it wasn’t just a mogul.
In general, it was an unexpectedly great Swedish disappointment, although Mundo Duplantis would end with a certain gold medal.
What could save this pigeon is if Sania’s cheeks jumped home with a medal in the women’s long jump.
But based on her press conference here in Eugene on Thursday, it appears she spent most of her time at a training camp in Berkeley outside San Francisco chasing her lost flight luggage.
Her bag hasn’t arrived yet.
And anyone who has been in contact with an airline about lost baggage in these times knows what the endless waiting time on the phone entails. There are hours when you tear your hair out and curse everything and everyone.
Usually the answer is the same.
They have no idea.
But it obviously bothered my cheeks quite a bit and it’s not the optimal charge before the World Cup.
Anti Peak
Perseus Karlstrom, you say?
Yes, the 20km WC bronze is still affiliated with the Swedish Walking and Walking Association even if there is a second medal on Sunday 35km.
Walking medals will be counted under the athletics umbrella next year only.
I don’t blame Kajsa for the way she turned out, as it can’t influence the athletics team as much as team sports like soccer and ice hockey.
But she still looks like a bulge after the Swedish success at the Olympics last year.
Fortunately, there will be an EC in Athletics in Munich already in August.
And I can really guarantee it’s going to be a much bigger athletics party than the one that’s about to wrap up here in Eugene.
The Olympic Stadium in Munich holds approximately 60,000 spectators, compared to the 12,500 that can accommodate here at Hayward Field.
It will be felt and heard.
And you’re guaranteed a much bigger party – no matter how things go for Kagsa and her national athletics team.
Can Lyles break the world record?
I saw Michael Johnson set his then “impossible” world record in the 200 meters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
When Johnson crossed the finish line in his backward fashion, the clock stopped at 19.32.
He broke his own world record earlier that summer by 34 percent.
Eternity 200 meters.
Then I also sat in the stands at WC in Berlin in 2009 and watched Usain Bolt run on 19.19. It was a time from another planet.
Now I got to see 25-year-old Noah Lyles break the American record that Johnson still holds, when the clock stopped at 19.31 in the men’s 200m final.
Could he also threaten Bolt’s world record in the future?
I doubt.
In this case, I believe more in the third race, the prodigy Aeron Knighton.
He is still only 18 years old.
