Olympics 2020 men’s 100 metre final (COVID STYLE)

Olympics 2020 men’s 100 metre final (COVID STYLE)

Athletes, their respective venues, and local GMT.

Christian Coleman (USA): National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan. GMT 23:00.

Noah Lyles (USA): Luzhhniki stadium Moscow, Russia. GMT 17:00.

Divine Oduduru (Nigeria): Barra Park Stadium Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. GMT 11:00.

Nigel Ellis (Jamaica): Birds Nest Stadium, Beijing, China. GMT 22:00.

Yohan Blake (Jamaica) LA Memorial Stadium, Los Angeles,  USA. GMT 07:00.

Andre de Grasse (Canada): FNB Stadium,  Johannesburg, South Africa. GMT 16:00.

Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Japan): Munich Stadium, Munich, Germany. GMT 16:00.

Akani Simbine (South Africa) London Stadium, London, UK. GMT 14:00.

In spite of Corona, isolation

And lockdown forced upon every nation,

Thanks to worldwide cooperation,

Olympic will and determination,

The day of reckoning is finally here;

Billions in living rooms now can cheer,

The athletes, each, in a separate location,

Poised in silent anticipation,

Lined up against each other on screen,

In stadiums, immaculately clean,

Psyching themselves for the ultimate test;

A record breaking personal best:

In Tokyo’s National Stadium today,

Christian Coleman of the USA,

Gives his compatriot, Noah Lyles,

In Russia’s Luzhniki, the briefest of smiles,

Divine Oduduru’s hoping to thrill,

Nigeria in the Barra Park, Brazil,

Nigel Ellis in Beijing’s Bird Nest,

Has assured Jamaica, he’ll run his best

As has Yohan Blake, in Memorial, LA;

He’s dying to win a gold medal today,

Andre de Grasse hopes Canada will see

Him win, in South Africa’s FNB,

Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown,

In Munich’s, determined to bring the house down,

And, South African, Akani Simbine,

Hopes, from London, to sweep the board cleanly.

On your marks,

Get set,

Go!

Lyles is off fast;

Coleman too,

Oduduru’s lagging,

Blake’s through,

Ellis and Grasse

Are neck and neck,

Brown’s keeping

Simbine in check,

Coleman’s

Nearly there

Lyles is in full flare

But Oduduru’s

Had a burst;

He’s gone

From last to first.

Yes!

He’s over the line,

In a very fast time:

9.59.

Oduduro; new Olympic champion,

In the quiet and empty Russian stadium,

Sees on the screens each fellow athlete,

Congratulate him on his wondrous feat;

He was up against the best, and what’s more,

There’s never been an African winner before,

And I hope in future, many will speak,

Of this race, in so many ways, unique;

Will it overshadow COVID 19?

The answer to that, remains to be seen;

I wonder if, four years from this day,

The race will be run in the usual way,

And though dear reader, it has to be said,

The entire event, came out of my head

I’m sure you’ll agree, as I grind to a halt,

It was less of a race, in the absence of Bolt.