Our son Ben has kindly written a quick review about the specific events we attended at the London World Athletics Champs, which I will include so you can all enjoy that too:

“The 2017 London World Athletics Championships kicked off on the 4th of August, at the Olympic stadium.A crew of ex-pat New Zealanders assembled for the first evening, Tony Payne, and his girlfriend Julia, Callan Moody, Lyndon Brown, along with Mum, Dad, Margie and myself.The highly anticipated event that night was the 10,000m final – featuring the home favourite, Mo Farah. It is hard to describe quite how the Brits adore Farah, but for almost the entire race, 55,000 fans were on their feet, with the noise levels steadily increasing, and when he crossed the finish-line to retain his title, the crowd erupted. The noise generated is similar to when the All Blacks score a try in a test match, except this goes on for 30mins!

The next evening, August 5th, featured the 100m semi-finals and finals. Although not in electric form, Bolt still seemed to be the favourite – particularly after what he did in Beijing, and Rio. To witness the race that night was both incredible to be a part of Bolt’s last 100m final, but it also left a somewhat bitter feeling, due to Justin Gatlin taking the victory. The reaction from the crowd was extraordinary – after crossing the finish line, Gatlin was pelted with boos from the London crowd. I think the reaction was possibly a mixed response to what Gatlin represented, as well as disappointment that Bolt did not win in his last hurrah. It was an incredible contrast to the euphoria of Bolt winning the 100m in Beijing two years prior, which we were very lucky to see as well.

August 6th had not only Tom Walsh in the shot put, but also the women’s 100m final. Walsh’s competition was brilliant to watch, and had us on the edge of our seats, as the top five competitors all looked capable of winning if everything went well for them. To be in the stadium, and to see a New Zealander win, in such a deep, diverse sporting discipline was incredible. The night was also lit up by one of the upsets of the Champs, where Tori Bowie won the women’s 100m, and the hot favourite, Elaine Thompson of Jamaica finished a distant 5th – compounding Jamaica’s sprint misery from the night before.

The 7th of August was another night for the home crowd – with Laura Muir in the 1500m. Once again, words really can’t describe how brilliant the British crowds were for home athletes. Muir eventually finished 4th in one of the best races of the champs. She gave it absolutely everything, and 4th seemed a cruel placing for such a gutsy run.

August 8th had an incredibly tense and surprising men’s 800m result – where Pierre Ambroise-Bosse managed to hold off the firm African favourites, and the men’s 400m was a surprisingly tame affair on the track, despite the drama off it (after Isaac Makwala was barred from competing due to a virus).

Our final evening of live athletics, and the final evening of the Championships included the brilliant head to head between Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and Helen Obiri of Kenya in the 5000m – both of whom ripped the field to pieces, before Obiri left Ayana for dead. Semenya cantered to victory in the women’s 800m, and Nick Willis didn’t quite have enough to challenge in the men’s 1500m.

It truly is hard to summarise how brilliant this experience was, and I wholeheartedly recommend attending the World Championships to any sport lover out there. It is not something just for the die-hard track and field fan, but for fans of sport and athleticism in general. The British crowds were exceptional, both in their numbers, and in their knowledge, and the London stadium was the perfect setting. By default due to the programme, you are exposed to events and disciplines you may not necessarily watch, and this increases the appreciation of these events, and their participants.

See you in Doha 2019.”