Anyone know why they're not using lane 1 in the single lap races?
Athletes prefer not to run in lane 1 as bends too tight. Having 9 lanes mean we can get away with less heats, e.g. today we had 9 in some of the 200m heats. It also means if we get a tie for 8th place in a final we could have 9 in final. Very unlikely with electronic timing but it might help.
In all events they have got away with only heats - semis -finals. Apart from 100m which had a prelim round which was a bit like sunday league teams entering the FA cup.
That's an official view from my position in first call room.
Met my mate Usain again tonight. He came in to call room en route to get his medal. He complained to me it was too cold in our marquee. "Are you in charge of the temperature gauge?" - "No I replied we've got the air conditioning on. Any way - You are supposed to be the coolest man on the planet!"
You may find this hard to believe but it is true!
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