It was last week that it became official: The discus is basically deleted from the Diamond League program. A single competition for men and one for women remained. There were upset feelings from the discus and three-stage world (which also had only one competition left).
- I was totally devastated, sorry. You don't, Daniel Ståhl said.
His coach Vesteinn Hafsteinsson was even more upset, if possible, and compared the message to the death sentence surrounding his parents.
"This is the biggest scandal I've been through in my life," Hafsteinsson said.
Given Daniel Ståhl's superiority last season, which was crowned with a World Cup gold, it was not unexpected that Stockholm would get the only men's disco competition with official Diamond League status. But all the more gratifying.
- It's fun and gratifying, Kowalski tells SVT Sport.
"Better with the one than none"It will be the odd arrangement to have the only men's disco competition in the Diamond League during the season in Stockholm?
- Yes, it is better with the one than none. Here, the IAAF and Diamond League take the whole into account. You show that you care about what people think.
Were there any negotiations behind the message?
- There was no negotiation behind this. We knew that the time for the TV broadcast part of the gala would go down from two hours to 90 minutes and that the program had to be canceled. The question was whether it was the same branches that would be deleted or whether one would vary the branches that would be deleted. This feels like a mix, but it's unfair when it gets the way it is now, Kowalski says.
It has been a very tough debate afterwards. What do you say about it?
- Debate is good, even if the sport may not benefit if it is carried out in public, but I understand that the discusers did not feel heard. It is good that we have a lively discussion, says Kowalski.