And then the rain came falling down

After the heat of Thursday, waking up to dark clouds, heavy rain, thunder and lightening wasn't surprising. I did feel for those in the 50km walk though, as it may have made their final pre-race preparations more uncomfortable than is desirable - although at least the cooler temperatures will have been welcomed and made the actual race more comfortable. My first duty of the day was the 7-10am slot in our hotel's Oasis, so apart from going to the staff canteen for breakfast I didn't have to go out in the rain. Several people called in during that time, one who has been attending most mornings. The next couple of hours was spent supporting a fellow chaplain for whom today was difficult, doing some admin, as well as the 2 main tasks of the morning: Firstly, having finally managed to acquire a New Testament in French, I spent time tracking down the Team Official who'd requested one a few days ago. Eventually, I was able to give it to their team attache along with a letter for him, although I put it in a sealed bag for reasons of both personal confidentiality and also possible religious sensitivities in the country concerned. Secondly, I wanted to leave a message for the English-speaking Team Coach I chatted to a few days ago as one of her athletes had done well the previous evening and I wanted to follow up our conversation. She was actually in her room and although pleased about that athlete was still feeling very much under pressure, and said she was very pleased to see me. We had a chat. I then went over to the other hotel to 'loiter with intent' for an hour or so, during which I managed to speak with an athlete I wanted to see, before heading off to the stadium.
Soon after arrival, the rains came down again big-style. I didn't get too wet but it was sad to sit in the stadium and watch both athletes and officials getting wetter and wetter by the second. It must have been hard for those in the second group trying to qualify for the Javelin final who had much worse weather conditions than those in the first group who'd competed earlier. Then, as those of you who watched it on TV will know, throwing and jumping events were suspended for safety reasons, and the start of the track events was delayed. That too adds a stress onto athletes as their preparation is aimed at a certain time and then they have to hang around for an uncertain length of time before being able to compete - a bit like what happens at Wimbledon in a rainy English summer! Thankfully, once the rain stopped, competition was able to resume and was all scheduled events were completed, albeit later than expected.