2023-12-13 18:58:47
According to revelations from the British daily “Times” this Wednesday, December 13, as planned in the current configuration of the Stade de France, the location of the sandy pits reserved for jumpers would not be adapted to the criteria set by World Athletics.
Of all the unforeseen events that the organizers of Paris 2024 faced during the preparations, the one reported by the Times this Wednesday, December 13 probably deserves the medal of the improbable. It concerns the locations of sand traps for athletics, which would not be adapted to the strict criteria defined by World Athletics, just seven months before the Paris Games.
According to the British newspaper, the issue was discussed at the World Athletics Congress in Monaco on December 8. Among the fears raised: that the Stade de France, a major setting for these Olympic Games, could only accommodate one jumping pit due to lack of space, which would lead to significant changes in the scheduling of the events.
Designed at the time for the Football World Cup in 1998, the Stade de France is equipped with retractable seats, to adapt it to football, rugby, concerts and athletics. Capable of housing 80,000 people as for the Rugby World Cup final on October 28, it will, for example, accommodate “only” 68,000 spectators next summer, to leave more places for athletes, while the track is almost glued to the stands in the configuration of a football match.
During the World Athletics Championships in Saint-Denis in 2003, the jumping pits were close to the home straight. In its more modern configuration, they are now located along the opposite straight. However, the positioning of the retractable seats located on this side would encroach on the area reserved for the sandboxes.
According to sources close to the matter mentioned by the Times, the organization is racking its brains to ensure that there are two sandboxes, even if the solution has not yet been determined. It must comply with the strict rules established by World Athletics. The highest authority in the discipline requires that the jumping pit for the long and triple jump have a minimum width of 2.75 m and a maximum of 3 m. For the triple jump, which requires the most space, the distance between the take-off line and the end of the sandbox must be at least 21 m. The take-off board must be at least 13 m away from the jumping pit.
Several interviews are taking place in Paris this week, again according to the British daily, to try to resolve the problem and come into compliance. Requested by Libération, Paris 2024 has not yet wished to comment.
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