The coronavirus pandemic does not yet allow for sporting events in the usual form. However, professional sports are still gradually reviving in new conditions. On June 11, an exhibition tournament entitled “Impossible Games” was held in Oslo under the auspices of the Diamond League, in which athletics superstars took part.
The organizers did not completely cancel the starts, as they did in other countries. Instead, they made every effort to please both sports enthusiasts and comply with all restrictions imposed by COVID-19. Competitions were held without spectators and with a limited number of participants, but at the same time, the athletes were seriously fighting for victory and new records.
The tournament started with another duel of the best pole vaulters. World record holder Arman Duplantis and Olympic champion Renault Lavilleni once again found out which of them is currently in the best shape. True, the Frenchman could not come to Oslo, so two days before the competition, he spoke in the backyard of his house. His result was kept secret until Duplantis entered the sector of the Bislett stadium. Only after this, athletics lovers were able to see their attempts synchronized in time live.
Lavilleni was not easy, and he overcame almost every bar on the third attempt. But he conquered a height of 5.81 meters immediately, just like Duplantis. After that, the bar rose five centimeters, and then the French athlete still surrendered. Duplantis was able to take the height from the third time and celebrated the victory. After that, he tried to break the competition record and climb a height of 6.01 meters, but failed to do so.
Three failures at 5.91m, and @ mondohoss600 misses out on the meeting record.
But what a battle it was between two pole vault legends.
5.86m is enough for the world record holder to beat @airlavillenie. #ImpossibleGames
📸 Eirik Førde / Bislett Alliance pic.twitter.com/YaTWC1uUVq
The next in the program was a 1000 meter race. European champion and world championship bronze medalist Philip Ingebrittsen has set his sights on a national record in this discipline, which is not typical for stayers. The Norwegian completed the task and overcame the distance in 2: 16.46.
Viewers' attention then switched to the sector for discus throwing. In it, reigning world champion Daniel Stol from Sweden fought for victory with three little-known rivals. He did not show record attempts, but still confidently took first place with a result of 65.92 meters, which can be considered an excellent indicator for the competitions held during the pandemic.
All participants in the Impossible Games had to maintain a social distance, and this rule was mandatory, including for runners. I had to run the races with empty paths separating the athletes. In such an unusual setting, Olympic silver medalist Sarah Petersen from Denmark won the 300m hurdles, while Norwegian Karsten Warholm added two world champion titles to the world’s shortened record - he stopped the stopwatch at around 33.78 seconds.
A 🌎 record
A 🇪🇺 record
Several 🇳🇴 records.
It's fair to say the #ImpossibleGames has lived up to expectations tonight.
Live updates ➡️ https://t.co/kixXZoESSx
📸 Eirik Førde / Bislett Alliance pic.twitter.com/NjNtb3dX1m
After the hurdlers, Philip Ingebritsen returned to the track to challenge Kenyan runners, led by world champion Timothy Cheruyot, and their 2000-meter race in Nairobi, along with their brothers Jacob and Henrik. The victory in the transcontinental race was won by the youngest of the Ingebritsensen brothers, Jacob, who simultaneously broke the European record - his result was 4: 50.01. Kenyans were unlucky with the weather, and out of five minutes none of them ran out.
The 100-meter race was notable for the participation of Salum Kashafali, the world champion and champion among athletes with visual impairments. With a personal record of 10.44 seconds, he ran the distance in 10.59 and celebrated his victory over two completely healthy opponents.
The final chord of the competition was the race of Olympic champion in skiing Teresa Yohaug at 10,000 meters. She already tried several times in the summer as an athlete and managed to win the Norwegian championship in this discipline. This time, the organizers gave her a chance to break a personal record and run out of 32 minutes. The strongest skier of the planet succeeded - she single-handedly ran the entire difficult distance for 31: 40.67. She did not have enough just 15 seconds to comply with the standard for participation in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The next tournament under the auspices of the Diamond League will be held on July 9. The best athletes of the world will again compete in absentia in their countries, and the main scene will be Swiss Zurich.