Marrakech Flash-Back, by Alfons Juck, EME NEWS

The Continental cup is just over by 24 hours. We are in Madrid on our way home, back to San Francisco.

My first time on the African continent and first time in Morocco. We will be back.

I enjoyed, as I have always done, the competitions. I was saddened by the lack of a crowd for such fine races and events.

Tiffany Porter, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Continental Cup,

photo by Shoe Addicts, Mike Deering

I believe that we have to make some real decisions in our sport. Is it better to have too many events, some that are fantastic and some that are, much less?

How do we really grow the sport?

We need to learn from Marrakech and events that, well meaning, sometimes, just do not work.

In Split, in 2010, there were 25,000 fans. In 2014, there were, perhaps several thousand over the two days.

MARRAKECH FLASH-BACK

MARRAKECH (MAR): From 32 fresh IAAF Diamond League winners in total 21 competed in Marrakech. Adding to it also two IAAF Hammer Challenge winners (Pars and Wlodarczyk) makes the list more impressive. Americas Team has 10 DR winners (3 men Edward, Merritt and Tinsley and 7 women Campbell-Brown, Williams-Mills, Harper-Nelson, Spencer, Murer, Bartoletta and Ibarguen). Africa offers 6 such names (4 men Amos, Ndiku, Birech and Mokoena but he in triple and two women Sum and Ayalew), Europe has in team 4 Diamond Trophy winners (Lavillenie, Kuchina, Perkovic and Spotakova) and Asia/Pacific team at the end only one Mutaz Barshim as Valerie Adams did not compete. Wins were registered from this 23 names (plus two hammer challenge winners) by 15 athletes and 8 were not able to win. Mark Butler in his predictions predicted well 22 winners out of 40 events. Concerning the wins by the teams, Europe had 16, America 12, Africa 11 and Asia-Pacific 1.

MARRAKECH (MAR): Even when some competitions will still be held on the track on other continents (for example Asian Games) it looks like we will have first year since 1975 with nobody breaking 48 seconds in men 400 m hurdles and also slowest women 800 m world lead 1:57.67 since the same 1975. Another marker year is 1981, since then 201 would be the lowest world lead in women high jump and 702 the lowest world lead in women long jump.

MARRAKECH (MAR): In the All-Athletics.com scoring the 2nd edition of IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech achieved more points 181 706 than the previous edition in Split 180 277. In both cases the event was second best in this category, in both years the European Championships were better. Zurich 183 431 and Barcelona 181 460.

MARRAKECH (MAR): During a welcome for the Asia-Pacific team competing at the IAAF Continental Cup Asia area association president Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad and Oceania area association president Geoff Gardner reiterated their desire to continue to work closely together. “This is a very great moment if we look to the IAAF as a global federation, the only two continents who are working together are ours, Oceania and Asia. This is a good example for all continents,” said Al Hamad. “We are here to represent our continents; we as presidents are here to show unity, I am sure that all of us feel that way.” An example of how the two continents are working together was outlined in a new competition plan. “We are working on the concept of an Asia-Pacific competition circuit,” said Gardner.

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 51-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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