Tokyo, Japan: Sleeping well overnight - finally - so were feeling fine this morning. Still waking early, but the women's marathon started at 7:30a, and was shown live on television. We had coffee in our room (via a little Nespresso machine) and watched the racers. They followed a very tourist-friendly 5-loop route through interesting landmarks in Tokyo. I told Dave - we should just walk the marathon loop to see the sights in town. Though the camera mostly followed the Japanese racers, as they should, it was a bit nauseating to watch as the camera was so shaky. While the marathon was happening, men's 1500m heats began at the stadium at 9a. There were no shocks as to who qualified for the semis, what was shocking was who didn't qualify: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway.
Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya won the marathon. Japan took 6th, 13th and 28th.
Between televised races/results we went down to the executive lounge on our floor for croissants from Pierre Hermé of Paris. (As one does.) It seems at this hotel you either have no food or fabulous gourmet food. I also had a small (Weck jar) filled with creamy dreamy yoghurt made by some famous guy in some famous Japanese dairy. So delicious. There was also a container of granola (also from Hermé), so I sprinkled it over my yoghurt, only to learn it was CHOCOLATE granola. I think I had dessert for breakfast? Is chocolate granola a thing?
This view is from the entrance-side of the hotel - where the shuttle bus brought us last night. In the middle-left of the above photo, the turquoise-ish roof of Akasaka Palace is visible. This building houses visiting dignitaries. Behind the palace is the track stadium. The sky seems sad, but rain was not predicted today.
We had the idea of maybe trying to go for a long walk, which in hindsight was a really stupid idea as it was 90 degrees with the same humidity. Walking in a sauna.
So much happening at the hotel today. Some sort of luxury good sale? Many women leaving a conference room with shopping bags. Not sure what was happening, but we did find this gorgeous blue car on display as we left air conditioning and entered the sauna.
Ohtani is doing ads for onigiri and this poster is on every small grocer and convenience store in Tokyo. We popped-into a few of the shops and were amazed at the variety of foods for sale.
We kept walking, thinking we would do a circular route, returning near the palace. It didn't quite work-out that way when we found ourselves in what I can only describe as an ancient Japanese village in the middle of Tokyo. Small wooden houses. No shops. One-car-wide lanes. No restaurants - save a Kirin beer vending machine on every corner. It was fun for a while - a silent calm neighborhood surrounded by mega-Tokyo, but then we couldn't find ourselves out of the maze. Google maps was not much help - it was as if the area had not been mapped? An unknown mysterious neighborhood. I would say we were lost, but we could see our hotel tower, but how to get there? Finally, we had a break, finding a park we knew was next to the palace and there we were - at the palace - and one-half mile from our hotel.
Back in air conditioning, we had a few hours to rest and shower (again) before heading to the track. First, we needed food... but would you believe nearly every restaurant in this mega-hotel was closed? Well, you should. Maybe because it was Sunday? We found a small place, the Capri Bar, that was open. Even though it was a bar and served just light meals, we found plenty, and the food was very good.
We hopped on the shuttle bus, and arrived to a sold-out (67,500 seats) stadium. It was hot and it was crowded - but it did not rain. Before heading to our seats, we decided to get in line to buy water. There was a uniformed attendant standing at the end of the line - we assumed to organize the herds - but she informed us they were sold-out of food and now only drinks were available. Sold out of food 30 minutes before the first competition of the evening? Dave grabbed the water and boy, was I surprised when I saw the label:
Happy I flew 5500 miles to drink California water. Are they as short on water and they are on food in Japan? Can anyone explain the reasoning of shipping water from California?
The meet started with 6 heats of men, then 6 heats of women's 400m. Grueling grind. That's just a lot of heats, people. If you remember from the USA Championships, 400m hurdle star, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has decided to race the 400m flat (meaning running the 400m - one lap - without hurdles to jump over). She is doing this to give herself a new challenge. (Ha. Seems the opposite to me?) She won her heat. Easily.
Finals tonight included the women's discus. American Valerie Altman took gold, Duck thrower, Jorinde Van Klinken (Netherlands) won silver and Silinda Morales of Cuba won bronze. The three women took a victory lap, and friends of Altman were seated next to Dave. Valerie walked up to the stands to greet her friends - so I was able to snap this photo. Even better? Jorinde Van Klinken caught my eye and I threw her the O and she threw it back!
No one was surprised American Tara Davis-Woodhall won the long jump gold. She is such a show-girl and a big crowd favorite with her friendly and funny antics - then puts on the serious face and gets it done.
In the women's 1500m semi-final, all the (3) Ducks were in the same heat. Jessica Hull (Australia) and Klaudia Kazimierska (Poland) will race in the final Tuesday evening. Duck Susan Ejore (Kenya) failed to advance. (The men's 1500m semis were raced in the morning session that we watched on television. All three Americans advanced.)
Right when the men's 10000m final was to begin, as the men were standing at the start line, the infield announcer brought Jamaican sprint hero, Usain Bolt, out on the track and interviewed him for a few moments and Usain did his famous "BOLT" pose for the happy crowd. No idea why the staff chose this odd moment for this fan-pleaser, but the 10000m boys were ready to run.
I guess Bolt messed up their mojo, because the men's 10000m final was just awful. It was slow, DT clocked them running 80 second laps. Agonizing to watch. At least the two Japanese competitors decided to have some lime-light and took the lead - didn't really bring up the pace though - and the crowd of Japanese fans (99%) went crazy with cheers! The two men finished at the back of the pack, but who won? I don't know as I was completely uneducated about any of the three racers. Gressler of France, Kejelcha of Ethiopia and Almgren of Sweden. None of the usual suspects. The final time was neary 29 minutes, when the world record time is just over 26 minutes. Come on, guys!
The big drama - per usual - was in the 100m heats and final (women and men). Three heats, top two finishers in each heat automatically advance to the final and then the two racers with the next two fastest times advance. Usual favorite, American Sha'carri Richardson did not do well in her heat and had to wait to learn her fate until all heats had been completed. She did advance, though we had to watch her on the stadium big screen, agonizing from a room under the stadium as she waited on the couch. But it was another American, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden who took the gold in the final. (Dave predicted this.) Jamaican Tina Clayton took the silver and the Olympic gold medalist, Julien Alfred - the pride of teeny St. Lucia - won bronze. Richardson was 5th.
And then we had the men's 100m. There was quite a bit of posturing, leering and strutting, and couch sitting during the heats. Oh. The. Drama. And at the final, Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) jumped at the start was DQ'ed. We were a bit surprised, as no one had been disqualified for a false-start yet. Either it wasn't quite bad enough, or the Japanese are way too polite? Either way, Letsile Tebogo really false-started. Very obvious. He was sent back under the stadium. More getting the racers into their blocks. 67,500 fans in complete silence, and the gun goes off. It was a ten-second blur, but Jamaican Oblique Seville won gold in 9.77 - his personal best! Kishane Thompson, also of Jamaica took second place and American Noah Lyles won the bronze medal. Yes, Lyles may have been picked to win, but anything can happen at the championships. The Jamaican-filled section next to us went crazy with pride! Noah, so used to winning gold, was a very proud bronze medalist tonight.
Sorry, but this tee is just too clever. And correct.
Back on the shuttle and back to the hotel's Capri Bar (that we thought was secret and knew it was open until midnight) for a beer. Who am I kidding? It was the only place open in this mega-hotel, the place was packed and their kitchen was already closed. No matter how full the bar - no matter how many beers were being poured, how many cocktails were being shaken - at 11:30p they said Last Call, and kicked us all out at midnight.
Pedometer: 16,502 steps.
NOTE: If you want to catch us on TV, we have a great bookmark. We are seated directly to the right (from the televised view) to the massive yellow Jamaican fan section. We are in the front row, directly on the aisle.
Until my next update, I remain, your sweaty correspondent.
Links:
World Athletics Championships | Tokyo 2025
Meet Schedule
How to watch from the US
World Championships Results
Tokyo Weather