tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137472272011-04-22T02:24:40.929+01:00The Epson IAAF blog is now live. Go behind the scenes at the 10th IAAF World Championships with the staff of Epson.Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1124098245328510502005-08-15T10:21:00.000+01:002005-08-15T10:32:34.623+01:00

Well it’s all over. The last spectator has long since left the stadium, the athletes have headed for the airport, and the local supporters have gone back to work. Here you can see us packing up equipment from the Epson computer room into what seemed like hundreds of boxes.The final day’s competition was marked by superb performances in the women’s javelin and the women’s marathon. Following the

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1124022103607134732005-08-14T13:01:00.000+01:002005-08-14T13:21:43.616+01:00

With a steady drizzle from early on, the athletes competing in the women's marathon are the only ones smiling about the weather today. Here grim-faced Helsinki residents consider the conditions for the final day of the Chmpionships. Braving the rain, I drove around looking for evidence of the Championships in the town. I didn't have to look too far. Many shops are running special campaigns, flags

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1124002586706560372005-08-14T07:46:00.000+01:002005-08-14T07:56:26.706+01:00

Still amazed by the Eithiopian 1-2-3 in the women's 5,000 and excited by Finland’s bronze medal in the men's long jump last night, I took a walk in and around the stadium to see if I could find some usually out-of-bounds areas to show you.Deep in the bowels of the volunteer center I found a mountain of uniforms, backpacks and equipment for the 3,100 volunteers that are making the event possible.

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123943476567800532005-08-13T15:20:00.000+01:002005-08-13T15:31:16.576+01:00

After visiting the media center I decided to watch the men's marathon from the commentators' box. Undeterred by the rock-hard wooden benches, TV commentators from around the world were speaking enthusiastically into their microphones. As well as watching the race on their own monitor, each commentator has access to the latest race info through Epson's commentator information system. And as if

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123934326516030152005-08-13T12:47:00.000+01:002005-08-13T12:58:46.523+01:00

Yesterday I visited the media center. The whole building was filled with the tappity-tappity tap sound of fingers hitting keyboards and mobile phone calls in almost every language I could recognize - and many that I couldn't. There was also a fair share of grimaces, frowns, scowls and curses (that I fortunately couldn't understand) as PCs crashed, communications broke, and reporters searched for

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123916831425568302005-08-13T07:49:00.000+01:002005-08-13T08:09:20.886+01:00

The stadium was buzzing yesterday as Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia set a new world record in winning the women’s pole vault, and Justin Gatlin was denied a third gold by a dropped baton in the 4 x 100 meter relay. With all events today scheduled for the afternoon and evening your exhausted editor decided to take the morning off.The idea was to take a long walk with the aim of observing preparations

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123863972425685652005-08-12T16:46:00.000+01:002005-08-14T07:46:03.960+01:00

These are the flowers that you can see on either side of the medal podium. I found them put on one side of the waiting room where the medalists gather before receiving their medals. They look in excellent condition so I'm wondering who waters them every day.Emerging from a tiny dressing room, the medalists meet with various dignitaries, medal presenters and extremely glamorous flower presenters

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123842283347264042005-08-12T11:17:00.000+01:002005-08-12T19:23:59.950+01:00

Today’s journey to the stadium took three times as long as usual because roads around the stadium were blocked off because of the men’s 50 km walk.While waiting for the walkers to waddle past I paid a visit to the souvenir shop to see what the hot selling items were. According to the young woman in the kiosk, the surprisingly star of the show was Findy, the loveable squid who is the official

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123815571964946712005-08-12T03:49:00.000+01:002005-08-12T08:29:03.716+01:00

Apart from the appalling weather, the headlines of these Championships have been about the fine performance of American Justin Gatlin. Last night he followed compatriot Maurice Greene as only the second man to win world 100 meter and 200 meter gold. For this editor, however, no athlete tops the tenacity, dedication, and positive attitude of the Finnish spectators, who have been as warm and

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123762867297196232005-08-11T13:12:00.000+01:002005-08-11T16:30:05.700+01:00

After my failed attempts to master Finnish, I headed to the stadium. As there is no competition until late afternoon, I was able to walk around the track and take a look at the stadium from an athlete’s point of view.One thing that immediately struck me was how close to the crowd the athletes are. Here you can see that any runner in lane 9 is almost in the front row. The following picture shows

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123739114400938452005-08-11T06:39:00.000+01:002005-08-12T11:30:53.136+01:00

Last night’s events were once again affected by the weather. The temperature was a chilly 14 degrees C, and there were reports of 30 m/sec. winds out at sea. It was therefore no surprise when organizers rescheduled the much awaited women’s pole vault. Now Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia must wait until Friday to see if she can add to her Olympic Gold.There are no events scheduled for this morning, so

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123581516905929152005-08-10T10:38:00.000+01:002005-08-10T10:42:10.353+01:00

Today I’m going to take a break from our regular coverage of the Championships to introduce you to a man who has worked in sports timing and results for more than 30 years. Hidetoshi Komatsu joined Epson back in 1972, and has spent the whole of his career doing a job he clearly loves. I caught up with him over a beer.How did you get into sports timing?I joined the company just after the Sapporo

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123606119882074422005-08-09T17:29:00.000+01:002005-08-09T18:45:53.866+01:00

It was another beautiful day here until about 7:00pm when the skies opened up. The weather report was calling for rain, however no one ever listens to the weather report. It wasn't until the police actually put out a storm warning that everyone got serious.The lightning and thunder are amazing, however the volume of the rain is of biblical proportions. Apparently the photo finish room is now

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123588271624726592005-08-09T12:22:00.000+01:002005-08-09T19:06:24.926+01:00

Wierd happenings in the Pole Vault. The qualifying height was initially set at 5.7 meters, and Toby Stephenson, the man that many people were predicting to win the gold medal, passed at 5.3, 5.45 and 5.6 meters, and was planning to join in at 5.7 meters. At 5.6 meters, however, one of the athletes had a bad jump and somehow managed to land on one of the brackets that holds the pole up, breaking

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123580145823874552005-08-09T10:05:00.000+01:002005-08-09T11:14:44.466+01:00

This morning's events consist mainly of decathlon qualifying heats as well as the Javelin qualifications, so I decided it was high time to find the driver of the little red car that carries all the javelins, hammers, etc.After much detective work, I finally found the driver up in the VIP stands beside the cameras, although he is a fairly nondescript character, which was what made it so hard to

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123527331865245592005-08-08T16:59:00.000+01:002005-08-08T19:56:17.623+01:00

The rain actually stopped for the entire evening session until the final event, the women's 100, which produced a huge upset. Whether it was the pouring rain or because it was a cool night, we'll never know, however Christine Arron came in 3rd, and Lauryn Williams came out of nowhere to win. It looked as if Arron just never really got going. Unlike Justin Gatlin last night, she failed to deliver

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123397543777129112005-08-08T07:50:00.000+01:002005-08-09T07:37:52.356+01:00

Well, the rain is officially back, and ponchos are the fashion style of the day. Unlike some sports where a bit of rain means a cancellation or at the very least a delay, the Athletics Championships are like the famed postman, going on through rain, sleet or snow. Luckily there were no events scheduled for this morning/afternoon, but the evening is not looking like a lot of fun... especially for

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123431010741167122005-08-07T13:46:00.000+01:002005-08-08T14:46:45.730+01:00

The current star of the Championships is a little red radio controlled car that zooms around and picks up all the Track and Field equipment, such as Javelins, Hammers and Discus, after they've been thrown.Everyone in the stadium is trying to figure out who's driving it, and how it manages to stay out of accidents. If they sold these as souvenirs, it would definitely be a best-seller...Today's

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123401356617284232005-08-07T07:52:00.000+01:002005-08-07T09:07:28.143+01:00

Interestingly, the opening ceremony was divided into 2 parts, one starting at 5:15pm, consisting primarily of speeches and the rather gothic Finnish national anthem, and another at 10:30pm, which had the majority of the entertainment including Russian music, Japanese drums and various other arcane acts.Part 1:Part 2:Over 35,000 people attended the afternoon session, including the opening

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123326649493229252005-08-06T11:32:00.000+01:002005-08-06T13:22:01.590+01:00

It is an unexpectedly beautiful sunny day here in Helsinki for the first day of competition, and that has put everyone in a good mood. All systems are working fine, however, there was a small problem with the visibility of the scoreboards in the stadium. The original color scheme was white text on a blue background, however that proved to be a bit tough for people to see in the sunshine, so the

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13747227.post-1123232844522734542005-08-05T07:47:00.000+01:002005-08-06T13:14:52.496+01:00

It is the day before the big event here in Helsinki, and the big story is the weather, not the athletes or doping scandals. It looks like rain is in the forecast for the next week, and the organizers are a bit concerned about attendance. Up until 2 weeks ago, there were still a lot of tickets left unsold, however, sales have picked up recently. Rain certainly won't help the attendance figures,

Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583375662183827397noreply@blogger.com