Edmonton

Sunday | 5 August 2001 | Edmonton, The World's | Day 3: The newspapers this morning are full of Olga Yegorova being reinstated and guessing if Gabriela Szabo will pull-out in protest. We saw Szabo walking down the street - hopefully she was going to a restaurant. The athletes are disappointed the condoms in their "Welcome to The World's" bag are not packaged with the logo of The World's. In Sydney, the condoms were decorated with the Olympic rings! The Royals (Prince Edward and his wife, Countess Sophie) are showing up at dinners, receptions, a wedding, luncheons, visiting the sick and doing all the stuff Royals do when touring the former Colonies. Adidas is using illegal spikes on their sprinters shoes and the Queen Mum turned 101. Bears are closing many campsites in Jasper and Banff (our next destination) because of a bumper Buffalo Berry crop - they are in the low-lands feeding like mad.

But now, my report from The World's: Again, we only attended the afternoon session as the 10,000m men's heats were cancelled in favor of one mass final run later this week. It was a beautiful day in Edmonton, sunny and warm and just a bit breezy. Our seats face east, so we don't have the sun in our eyes and we are in the shade after 6:00 p.m. Marion Jones easily won her heat of the women's 100. We heard Marion on the radio this morning saying she expected a world record in the men's 100m tonight and she was "sticking around" to watch. The men's 100m semis were very good - unless you are Canadian. Tear-jerker of the day was Canadian Donovan Bailey failing to make it out of the semis and taking a victory lap, in reality a "retirement" lap. The 33 year old was crying like a baby, and so was I. The press is terrible to Bailey, but he has done well for Canada. In the next semi Canadian Bruny Surin pulled-up with 25m to go and was taken away from the track in a wheel chair in a very Chris Monroe-style Academy Award winning performance. No runners will represent the US in the men's 800m - since Bencey quit running, the talent pool has continued to slide.

Down in the concourse, getting refreshments, I spotted Don Quarrie and then moments later - wait for it - Countess Sophie (I know you will love this, Mary, you Royal-Watcher you) being escorted to her seat by all-sorts of men with bulges under their suit jackets. She is very pretty and was wearing a form-fitting pale blue short-sleeved dress - I'm guessing a size 6.

The men's 100m final was the event of the day. Even the local crowd, without a Canadian in the race, was glued to their seats. Maurice Greene, Tim Montgomery and Bernard Williams - one, two three! We have not heard yet what happened to make Maurice Greene limp-in the last few meters, but DT thinks he may have been close to a world record before he began limping.

Maurice Greene taking his victory lap


Mo talking to the press

This evening we will stay home. I have a lovely low-fat spinach lasagna (frozen, but home-made, Howard!) and a tossed salad. This morning I baked a loaf of herbed focaccia bread. We can get satellite reception here, but are having a very difficult time getting HBO, so someone had better tape Sex in the City and Six Feet Under for me! 

RV Park: Glowing Embers RV Park in Spruce Grove, Alberta