More than 25,000 people crowded the streets of Manchester yesterday to watch the Great CityGames, a glowing indictment of both the sporting passion of the city, and the strength of the field provided by the organisers.
Jessica Ennis-Hill was the star that shined the brightest – with the London 2012 heptathlon champion and media darling competing for the first time since July 2013, after the birth of her first child.
She was joined by a plethora of the world’s greatest and most promising athletes.
Our exciting young crop of British sprinters were represented by Chijindu Ujah, Richard Kilty, Dina Asher-Smith and Jodie Williams.
They were joined by compatriots such as Ennis-Hill’s fellow Olympic champion Greg Rutherford, her heptathlon rival Katarina Johnson-Thompson and world-class talent like sprinters Kim Collins and Mike Rodgers and Olympian hurdlers Aries Merritt and Felix Sanchez.
It was a cold, overcast day, punctuated by chilly squalls and vivid splashes of sunshine, with the temperature struggling to reach double figures – hardly providing ideal athletics conditions.
The enthusiastic Mancunian crowd did not care one jot, with the shrill pleas for signatures and selfies betraying a genuine appreciation of athletics, with legendary Ethiopian distance-runner Haile Gebreselassie attracting almost as much adulation as Britain’s Olympic legends Ennis-Hill and Rutherford.
On the track however, the conditions hampered the prospects of genuine world-class performances.
Long-jumper Rutherford, 28, won his event – against a stellar field including domestic rivals Chris Tomlinson, aptly described as a ‘stalwart’ of the sport by the announcer, and up-and-coming Dan Bramble – with an impressive jump of 8.01m.
Elsewhere, Kilty finished ahead of Ujah in the 100m – a result made more significant in the wake of Kilty’s claims that his compatriots should have joined him at the world relays in the Bahamas last weekend – although both were beaten by American Rodgers, who ran 10.25s.
Kilty again addressed the situation in Manchester, telling the assembled press that Britain’s relay team ‘need to get together and have the same goal, and a genuine desire to represent Great Britain.’
Whilst the obvious implication is that Kilty feels that his desire is not replicated by his peers, it should be said that the 25-year-old spent twenty minutes after his race signing autographs and taking pictures whilst his fellow competitors changed and departed.
This betrayed a tenderness and appreciation of his fans which belies the bellicose portrayal of himself he has painted through his denunciation of his teammates.
Elsewhere, Johnson-Thompson missed out on victory in the 200m hurdles thanks to an ill-timed stumble, with Meghan Beesley taking the win, and 19-year-old Asher-Smith impressed in claiming victory in the 150m – a race that also featured Dafne ‘the flying Dutchwoman’ Schippers.
But it was no coincidence that the last individual event of the afternoon featured the women that everybody was waiting to see.
Ennis-Hill was visibly nervous at the start line of her 100m hurdles event. But what was also noticeable is the fact that she is in great shape – no small feat considering she gave birth just nine months ago.
It is no secret that the 29-year-old wanted to break the 13 second barrier in Manchester. But her time of 13.14s was no disgrace in difficult conditions – although it was only good enough for third place, behind Tiffany Porter and Lucy Hatton.
“I’m really happy to be back racing,” she said after the race.
“I definitely feel rusty, but I know I can build on that now. I just felt I needed to race and get back out there. But I’m quite happy, I feel really good.”
Image courtesy of BBC via YouTube, with thanks.
