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 | 12th IAAF World Track & Field Championships
Berlin, Germany
August 15 - 23rd, 2009
John Nepolitan on site
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Hit the ground running - Day 1 by John Nepolitan
While most readers of Dyestat see the 2009 track season being over, the biggest event in our sport is really about to kick off – the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany and DyestatMetro is on site. Why you ask would DyestatMetro be at the World Champs? Why not? It is the greatest meet of the world in 2009. Bolt vs Gay – USA vs Jamaica in the relays – Ethiopia vs Kenya in the distances – to name a few – can’t get any better. On these pages in the past I have admitted to being a track junkie/geek who loves going to meets, so why not go the see the very best our sport has to offer and see a part of the world along the way. I have always believed that if any of you had a chance to go to the Super Bowl, the World Series or the Final Four you would go ( well so would I), well then why does it seem odd that a track fan would want to go see the very best. Plus in the end it is not as expensive as you think.
The meet starts on Saturday, but I got here this morning (Wednesday the 12th) so I will have a few days to play tourist and I hope over the next week or so to not only give you a little taste of the meet, but also some other things going on here. I did a travel blog/meet report in the spring of 2008 from the World Cross Country Champs in Edinburgh, Scotland and it went over pretty well so figured why not try again. I am not promising a daily report, but will drop in and give a report when I have something I think people will want to see/read. I will tell you tomorrow I will be heading back out to the stadium and will post some photos of it – I was there today and it is amazing. Well lets get started with travel stories/tales.
Day 1 – The trip over was a very easy on mostly because I used frequent flyer miles to upgrade my seat to First Class. It is amazing how comfortable the seats are and how much good food they give you. Before jumping on the plane I had the pleasure of sitting with Penn Relays Meet Director Dave Johnson and Shelane Flanagan’s mother Cheryl Treworgy, herself an accomplished runner and now a track photographer. Sitting for the hour plus talking to them just set the tone for the trip – this is going to be great.
Members of the NBC production team for the show were sitting next to me working away though the night and I will bet it will be a great show next week.
Once landed it was the simple task of grabbing luggage (mine was the 4th bag out) then off to where I will be staying for the week. Over the last few years I have become friends with Victor Sailor (Photorun.net) one of the very best track & field photographers out there who set up a few apartments for us all to stay in. I am the first to arrive so I get choice of rooms and am the first to see the amazing place we will be calling home for the next 11 days. We are about 5000 meters from the stadium – 5 train stops – in the Charlottenburg area of the city. This is still in the old West Berlin. After dropping off my stuff it was on the street to have a look around and hit the grocery store to pick up a few needed items (such as Coke Light - Diet Coke back home - I know I know I drink too much of the stuff). After coming back and cleaning off travel grime, Errol Anderson (another photographer who is part of our party) arrived and we were off to pick up credentials.
One of the highlights of being credentialed at an World Champ event is the IAAF gives you some kind of gift – most times some type of bag. I already have a few back packs – this year it was a very cool adidas computer bag.
Dropping Errol back at the apartment I went down to the more center of town (near the zoo) to grab some lunch and look around some. With media credentials I am able to ride the subway and city buses free, so it was time to check out some sites. One of the major ones to see is the Brandenburger Tor (Gate). I did not realize that this landmark for over 30 years sat behind the Berlin Wall and was controlled by the Communist government of East Germany. Along the way there was a very unique memorial to the Jews killed during the Holocaust – a series of stone blocks set at different sizes for people to sit on, meet friends, walk through or just about anything.
The city is still gearing up for the big event this weekend and at the B-Gate they are setting up a cultural area where there will be free concerts and over events during the championships. It is also here that the walks and marathons will finish. I am sure I will work my way back there as the week goes on.
Day one would soon comes to a close as I am about to crash, but that is a good thing since it will put me right on schedule here in Germany.
Coming tomorrow - a look at Olympic Stadium and a short history lesson
Matt McCue catches up with Dyestat Alum Sanya Richards - includes a link to her video blog from Berlin
A few images from day 1 in Berlin
 
My digs for the next 11 days - yes I sleep up in that loft - lots of fun The Kaiser-Eilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche - The ruins
of the church tower - what was left standing after the
bombing rains of WW II - left as a memorial.
 
The Holocaust Memorial - thousands of blocks in memory of The Brandenburger Tor - the tents being put up are part of the cultural
those Jews killed in Europe during WW II festival that will take place as part of the World Champs
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