The athletics competition at the Commonwealth Games started precisely on time yesterday, even after workers spent much of the day completing repairs to the track.
The women’s parasport shot put was the first event on the day’s program, and the eight athletes began throwing at 5:30pm, right on schedule.
Earlier in the day, however, things were not looking so good at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The track and infield turf were wrecked during Sunday’s opening ceremonies and workers have been repairing the damaged areas ever since. There were four visible patches of re-laid track and three laborers were still scraping away bits of the reddish surface yesterday morning.
“They’ve done four repairs and all repairs are fine except one small area,” IAAF technical director Keith Davies said. “They’re just redoing that area.”
The new sections of track, which stretch across six lanes at it widest point, have more spring than the rest of the track.
“It will be bouncier than the rest of the track because it’s brand spanking new,” said Davies, who speculated that the athletes would be concentrating so much on running that they likely wouldn’t notice it. “It does, over time, get harder.”
The Games in New Delhi have been troubled for weeks and the late work at the main stadium is the latest setback for an event that has been plagued by construction delays, allegations of corruption, security worries and health and safety concerns.
There were two medal events at yesterday’s program, the women’s parasport shot put and the men’s 5,000m. Other events include the heats in both the men’s and women’s 100m.
The infield at the stadium has also been re-laid, and workers were busy digging sand out of the water pit for the steeplechase early yesterday.
“It won’t affect the performance in any way, shape or form,” IAAF technical delegate Bill Bailey said.
Since Sunday, workers have been laboring almost nonstop to get things cleaned up and ready for yesterday’s first event.
“Work on the track started the moment the opening ceremony was over,” local organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said. “Over 4,000 were working on the track. The track is OK, and the grass is laid in the center.”
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