This is Stuart Weir’s third piece on Monaco. His last meeting before Paris will be in London next weekend, and then we will see each other in Paris!
Sport can be unforgiving!
Six British athletes participated in the main Herculis program in Monaco in 2024, and their experiences illustrated the fickle and unforgiving nature of elite sport.
There was Molly Caudery flying high. The World Indoor Champion. In Monaco, she only vaulted 4.83 and laughed at herself for adding an ‘only’ to the sentence. Laughing at herself, she added, “I know it says a lot, it really does,” and then she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “You know, I had some really great attempts at 4.93…”. If she had been a fisherwoman, think how big the one that got away would have been! There is absolutely no malice in my poking fun at her. She is a lovely lady, an engaging athlete, and a great interviewee. I remember talking to her at the Europeans in 2022 when she was delighted to clear 4.50 and reach the final. Two years of pleasure at 4.50 has become disappointment at 4.83!
Ben Pattison was a surprise medallist in Budapest – I can see his attorney rising. “Objection, your Honor: it was no surprise to Ben!” In Monaco, I asked him about the added pressure of expectation. He nodded but explained: “Pressure is a privilege. Pressure means that people expect something of me. I’ve always known I’m one of the best in the world. So, I’ve always been going into races with that mindset. But last year, it just means that it’s not only me and my coach thinking it’s a lot of other people now, so yeah, it is good”.
Neil Gourley was 0.65 outside his PR but, of course, was not satisfied! He should have bossed the race more and finished higher. He feels that he is still “under-raced” following an early-season injury. He needs more training, another race, and then Paris.
Dina Asher-Smith was taking positives from her third place – she always does.
For Molly, Ben, Neil, and Dina, Monaco was just another staging post on the way to Paris. 2024 is the Olympic year, and nothing else matters.
Life is different for Elliott Giles, who finished 13th – effectively last – in the Monaco 1500 at 3:40.72. With 20 meters to go in the GB trials, Giles was third with a real chance of taking one of the two automatic Olympic qualifying places when he clashed legs with Josh Kerr and hit the deck. The discretionary place in the 1500 went to Kerr, and in the 800, the selectors chose Jake Wightman. Giles exited in the semi-final in Tokyo feeling that he had blown a realistic chance of making the final and doing well. He had no chance to redeem himself in Paris.
Melissa Courtney-Bryant enjoyed the euphoria of setting a new GB record of 5:26.08 in the Monaco 2000m, beating Yvonne Murray’s 5:26.93, which goes back to 1994. Courtney-Bryant had been ill from May to June and finished fourth in the GB trials, with the first three being selected. While others plan their season around Paris, she knows she will struggle to get many elite races this year: “So there are not any races now for me for the next month. I just need to get good training, and then, fingers crossed, the Diamond League people will have me in some races towards the end of August. That will be post-Olympics, and they may want to keep those spots and see who made the Paris final. But I’m hoping to get in some races and know I can PB over 1500. Hopefully, I can make that happen”. But mainly, it is out of her hands.
It is a sport of small margins.
