MANCHESTER DEFIANT
MARTHA KELNER in Manchester
AS HOLLY BRADSHAW launched herself to a British record in the pole vault, the crowd in Manchester’s Albert Square roared their approval. Partially hidden behind a portable toilet, two armed policemen remained stony-faced, politely declining the offer of a jelly sweet from a volunteer. This was the first major sporting event held in the city since the horror of Monday night and security was understandably much tighter than usual for this free event, marketed as bringing athletics to the people. Armoured police vans guarded both ends of the 250m track temporarily erected on Deansgate, Manchester’s main shopping street, while uniformed and plain-clothes police mingled with the 20,000 crowd, who stood five deep on the pavement. Safety was the primary concern but the message of defiance was being widely preached. Athletics legend Brendan Foster, whose company Nova organises the Great City Games, Lord Coe and the athletes maintained that the show had to go on. The athletes wore yellow ribbons on their vests to remember the 22 who died but spoke of their hope that they had briefly brought joy to this badly bruised city. Bradshaw, 25, grew up in Lancashire and was inspired to her best performance for several years, twice breaking the outdoor British record. ‘I used to live so close and being from Lancashire it did mean a lot to me,’ she said. ‘I was really upset by what happened, so to get out there and perform like that made me so pleased. A lot of people have been saying to the news and on social media that they just want to carry on as normal and show some solidarity,’ she added. Elsewhere, Greg Rutherford won the long jump with an 8.18m leap in the final round, beating Uruguay’s Emiliano Lasa (7.96m). Union flags were omnipresent in the crowd and Lord Coe, head of the IAAF, changed his plans to be in Manchester. ‘I felt I had to be here,’ he said. ‘It was a show of solidarity.’