From Walpole to London: Track Action Heating Up

Day Two of track and field competition was simply amazing, a day I will remember for the rest of my life. Never have I been a part of such an uplifting athletic experience before; seeing the Great Britain fans cheer on their athletes to gold medals, waving flags and screaming with such passion. The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium created an atmosphere all of its own.

I don't want to spoil the races for those who haven't seen them (after all, some are being shown in primetime in the US as I write this blog!). But I do want to share something unique I have seen in London over the past couple days.

Focusing on the heptathlon today, I got to see Great Britain's top talent Jessica Ennis for the second straight day. Arriving in London last week, I knew Ennis was a star who had a great chance to medal. But I didn't expect to see the 2009 heptathlon world champion on billboards all across the city, literally the face of a nation's sporting culture.

In the US, I am used to track and field taking a back seat to the major four sports. If I was to go up to someone and ask them to name three track and field athletes, most would say Usain Bolt then struggle to come up with two more. Here in the UK, though, it is the complete opposite. Two of the main faces of sports in general are Ennis and Philips Idowu, a triple jumper who has won world titles both indoors and outdoors Traveling to and from the Olympic Park, and walking around the square where my hotel is located, pictures of Ennis and Idowu in their Great Britain uniforms are everywhere. Turning on the television, Ennis is featured frequently on BBC; her picture is across all of the tabloid newspapers, for all of the good reasons. Between her great looks, kindness, and success in the sport, its hard to find a flaw in her, likely a reason as to why the nation has come together around her athletic accomplishments.

I only annotate this because it represents, in my opinion, extremely successful sports marketing around athletes in unusual, non-commonplace track and field events. Ennis's heptathlon is rarely held outside Olympic or World Championship competitions, as it consists of seven events contested over two days. In Idowu's case, the triple jump tends to be overshadowed by the action on the track.

To see a heptathlete and jumper as two of the biggest faces of UK athletics makes me wonder if an American track and field athlete could rise to such a level. Surely I hope so, though I know it would be tough considering the major four sports -- football, baseball, basketball, and hockey -- capture nearly all of America's sports headlines.

Really, I am very impressed as to how Ennis, Idowu, and a few other Great British track athletes have grown in popularity to the point where they are common household names.

With that said, another great day of logging and seeing the world's best athletes shine is in the books. Like the past few days, here are a few cool pictures, some from my break in between the morning and evening sessions. Tomorrow I plan to watch the women's marathon in the morning, then take in an evening of track and field. Enjoy!

Cheers til next time!

Chris

Used With Permission From Ithaca College Sports Management and Media