Asher-Smith’s mother later tweeted she had seen more spectators at England Athletics’ age-group championships in Bedford. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce confirms status with 100m world championship gold Read moreAsher-Smith’s teammate Beth Dobbin was even more blunt. “No empty seats,” the prospectus said, adding that “the atmosphere surrounding the world championships will be fantastic”. The French decathlete Kevin Mayer, the world record holder, has called the championships a “catastrophe”. A bunch of high-ranked officials gathered and decided that it would take the world championships here but they are sitting in the cool and they are probably sleeping right now.”No one doubts that track and field has lost most of the momentum gained from the London 2017 world championships, which were watched by 750,000 people in the flesh and millions more on television.

Source: The Guardian September 30, 2019 12:29 UTC