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Published: August 30th 2023
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The last three days at the track provided some of the best moments of the trip so far. On Friday morning the only event we wa ted to watch was the women's high jump qualifying. We did that from our room and were pleased that both Eleanor Patterson and Nicole Olysagers both got through to the final. The men's decathlon started but both Ash Moloney and Cedric Dubler had to pull out during the competition due to injury.
At 12-15 we met Denis Wilson in the foyer and walked with him to Voromasy Square and to the S/O restaurant. This stands for Soy/Olive. The place has an Italian restaurant on one side and an Asian on the other. The Oceania Area Lunch was being held in the Italian side. This is always a highlight of any Championships and where athletes, supporters , coaches, officials and administrators from around the region celebrate Athletics. Knowing that George Murrell, his daughter, Isabella and Tony Keanes were all here we asked Yvonne to invite them. What a great time we had. The food was delicious, the wine flowed and we also caught up with many people. Lord Seb dropped by to say a few words
and Robin Sapong, from Saipab who is the president of Oceania spoke well. We also saw Kata Farkas who used to manage the development se tion when Fletcher was the director of the RDC.
That night at the track the main focus for us was the women's Javelin final. We had three qualifiers but Katherine Mitchell injured herself in the warm up. However, Mackenzie Little had a great last throw which earned her the bronze medal! My highlight was getting a selfie with the mascot, Youhuu!!!
On Saturday again we chose to watch events on local TV as it was mainly the Women's Marathon where our best runner came in 18th and then mainly Decathlon events.It was still very hot, 37 degrees, so no incentive to venture out. For lunch we walked back to Voromasy Square and went to the iconic Gerbaud Cafe. This was first established in 1858 as mainly a patisserie and has been a Budapest stalwart ever since. I had a gnocchi with tomatoes and Fletcher tried the chicken tortilla which was huge. We had to try the desserts and they didn't disappoint.
That night our main focus in the program was the men's Pole
vault. Kurtis Marschall jumped well and was equal third with Nilson from the US to tie for the bronze medal. Mondo De Plantis won the gold and tried to break the world record at 6-23 but was unsuccessful. A great night of vaulting. The last events for the night were the 4x100 relay finals which are always exciting. We returned to the hotel and had drinks with Nathan Rees and his wife, Stacey. We had met him through Tim Rogers from Norfolk Island, who is his cousin. He is an ex premier of NSW and an athletics enthusiast. Great company.
Sunday morning the forecast was 38 degrees so we were happy to once again watch the men's Marathon on the TV while looking out of our room window to glimpse the leaders passing by. We returned to Il Pastaio for lunch and another stroll along the shopping Mall completed our adventures. The last night proved to be very exciting as we had two of the top contenders in the women's High jump. They both jumped well but were beaten by an Ukrainian jumper. Eleanor Patterson took the silver and Nicole Olysagers the bronze. A great effort. This made our
medal haul 6, bettering any other World Championships performance by an Australian team. Stewart McSweyen battled hard in the 5000 but didn't place. This Championships have been a great experience. The Hungarian crowds have supported the event and the standards overall have never been higher. We have renewed friendships and made new ones in a city which is both beautiful and welcoming.
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