LC Brühl member Dominic Lobalo is the winner of a Wanda Diamond League 3000m race, and Zurich’s Fabienne Schlumpf competed in the Olympic Games twice, once in the 3000m SC and another time in the marathon. In the run-up to this year’s edition of Weltklasse Zürich, the two stars took out time to join 30 fans for a jog along the Limmat riverbank. They shared tips, advice, and their thoughts about their passion for running.
Experiencing Weltklasse Zürich competition procedures
A particularly exciting glimpse behind the scenes of the international athletics meeting was offered to participants of the Behind the Scenes Experience. About 40 families, sport enthusiasts, and athletics fans were taken through call room procedures, where they were given personalised bib numbers, and then led through the belly of the venerable arena, and on to the “magic track”.
Once they arrived on the track and the infield, the group was introduced to the many facets and aspects of an athletics meeting. They learned about poles and relay batons, and they took a good look at Usain Bolt’s spikes, actual Weltklasse Zürich starting blocks, and the world-famous track itself. There were plenty opportunities to take selfies and to practise starting procedures, which delighted younger participants in particular. The group also inspected the various areas of the media zone, where, alone for the meeting’s host broadcaster SRG SSR, almost 200 staff members will be working on the night of the meeting.
There was, of course, an opportunity to have a go at one of the sport’s many fascinating disciplines: The long jump pit at the end of the indoor track, which athletes use whenever the weather conditions are bad, was ready and even equipped with the mark of new world champion Miltiadis Tentoglou’s winning jump of 8.52m. The kids in the group were more than ready to take a run-up and jump as far as they could, while other participants listened to more background information on the Weltklasse Zürich organisation. In the end, the group agreed that the experience had been delightful and had “offered cool join-in activities and great insights”.
Exciting insights into the world of Olympic families
At the exclusive athlete talk, which was part of a Weltklasse Zürich Experience, presented by UBS, Olympic champions Nicola Spirig, Andre De Grasse, and De Grasse’s partner and 2019 world champion Nia Ali joined in on the discussion. Three top performers, but above all: three parents who try to reconcile the many aspects of the "everyday madness" (Ali).
In the entertaining talk, hosted by Colin Jackson with much wit and charm, the three top athletes shared what they would like to pass on to their children ("set a good example" - Spirig), what drives them ("always set the highest goal - and then see if it goes further" - Ali), and what challenges them personally ("When Nia races, I'm much more nervous than at my own races!" - De Grasse).
The athlete talk in the well-attended UBS Green Court confirmed that the obstacles in a packed daily routine are the same for most people. When Jackson asked Ali whether she had three or four children, her answer was accompanied by sympathetic laughter and with nods both on the stage and in the audience.
