Devonish: Athletics goes back to basics

Sep 18 2009 by Nick Purewal, The Journal

HAPPY to hark back to playground foot races when he screams through Quayside tomorrow, Marlon Devonish believes stripping sprinting bare is vital to the future of athletics.

The Great North City Games starts today in the shadow of the Tyne Bridge, with the pole vault and shot bringing free top-level athletics to the masses, before Devonish, Christine Ohuruogu and Co wrap up the programme tomorrow.

The British team goes head-to-head with Australia for a tournament designed to woo the uninitiated, aiming to take advantage of Great North Run weekend.

Coventry-born Devonish competes in his second 150m street sprint tomorrow on purpose-built straight four-lane track on the Quayside – but this time without Usain Bolt for company.

If the 33-year-old was sceptical in the build-up to his street debut against Bolt in Manchester, the electricity shocked him into immediate conversion.

The purity of a street foot race blew him away, he said, even more so than Bolt’s first world record of an incredible year.

“I guess it is stripping it back,” said Devonish. “Obviously there’s a lot of technology gone into the track, but it’s taking the whole sport right back to the basics of ‘on your marks, get set, go!’

“You just go for it and see who’s the quickest and we all did that as kids again and again and again among our friends. All those sorts of memories come flooding back and it offers something totally different, people could just be in Newcastle chilling and stumble upon this by mistake, and that’s the beauty of it.

“I was a very athletic kid so I did all the sports really, but I started watching athletics on TV, it drew me in and I felt like I could do what they were doing.

“But there’s so many ways people can be inspired and this is just one of those. We’ve had problems getting the fans into the stadiums, so bringing the track to the streets takes the sport right to the people.

“It’s a unique chance for people to see how hard we’re striving, how fast we’re running and how intense the sport is.

“If it inspires a dozen kids to get into athletics then I’ll be happy, if it changes someone’s life completely, I’ll be delighted.

“Initially I wasn’t too sure about it, but when I got down to the track, saw how professional everything was and how seriously everyone takes it I loved it.

“I loved the massive spectacle and how it was going out to the world, with Usain Bolt there and a lot of other top names. I found it amazing and it was a privilege to be involved.

“The crowd’s right on top of you, and you can actually feel the aggression and the raw, primal force of all the athletes when you drive out of the blocks.

“That’s what the crowd wants to see, they want to see guys really going for it, and that’s important in helping grow interest in the sport.

“Bolt’s a massive catalyst to the sport, bringing in sponsors, spectators and talk about athletics has increased tenfold.

“He’s an asset along with a lot of other people and hopefully it just inspires others to run even quicker.”

After an injury-ridden season, Devonish believes battling through to the end will stand him in good stead. “I feel capable of running very quick still,” he said, “it’s just I had a few niggles this year which set me back.

“I’m still loving athletics, especially events like this, so there’s no reason why I can’t go through to 2012.

“I think it’s always important always to complete a season, even with injury issues, because if you pull out when you could have carried on that can affect you the following year.”

FRIDAY: 13:30 Pole Vault (Baltic Square), 15:15 Shot Put (Performance Square, Sage Gateshead)

SATURDAY: 13:30- 14:30 100m Hurdles Women’s (Track); Bupa Great North 2 Miles Women’s (Quayside); Bupa Great North Mile Women’s (Quayside); Bupa Great North Mile Mens (Quayside); Long Jump First Round Men’s (Quayside); 110m Hurdles Men’s (Track); 60m Men’s (Track); 150m Men’s (Track); Long Jump Final Round Mens (Quayside); 150m Women’s (Track).