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"I didn't sleep!" - Best quotes of 2023
06 November, 2023

"I didn't sleep!" - Best quotes of 2023

Faith Kipyegon couldn't get any sleep after her world record in Florence, while Fred Kerley and Marcell Jacobs locked horns verbally as well as on the track. We take a look back at some of the best quotes from the 2023 Wanda Diamond League season.

2023 was not only the greatest ever Wanda Diamond League season on the track, it also delivered some memorable moments on the microphone. In part one of the best quotes of the year: sleep deprivation, trash talk and dreams of a cricket career. 

"I'll be there. I don't know if he'll show up!" - Fred Kerley

The start of the season was marked by increasing excitement at the prospect of a head to head between then world champion Fred Kerley and Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in the men's 100m. Kerley had demanded a one-on-one showdown with his Italian rival, and continued to up the pressure as the season got going in Doha. When they finally did meet in Xiamen in September, neither man emerged victorious. 

"If cricket was like javelin, I'd be playing in the IPL" - Neeraj Chopra

He may not quite be at the level of Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar, but Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra is becoming more and more of a national treasure with every year that passes as he revolutionises track and field in his home country. In Doha, he admitted that his javelin technique would be a bit problematic for bowling purists. 

"Everything is possible" - Faith Kipyegon

Kenyan distance star was in good spirits when she showed up for the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala in Florence, admitting that she had her eye on the 1500m world record. When she said that "everything" was possible, though, it's possible she didn't actually expect to break three world records in a single season.

"I didn't sleep!" - Faith Kipyegon

A week after her 1500m world record in Florence, Kipyegon turned up in Paris admitting that she was still quite tired after a sleepless night of quiet celebration. But tired is obviously a relative term, and the sleep-deprived Kenyan promptly raced to a second world record in two meetings in the women's 5000m. 

"The shot put beats you up" - Ryan Crouser

Ryan Crouser broke the shot put world record and defended his world title in 2023, but in Lausanne, he admitted that he had absolutely no plans to continue tossing his orb about for fun after retirement. 

"I don't recommend pulling your hamstring" - Karsten Warholm

Norwegian hurdles star Karsten Warholm had a mixed year in 2023, bursting out of the blocks with a Diamond League record at his home meet in Oslo before tailing off a little towards the end of the season and eventually losing his Diamond League title to Rai Benjamin. In Stockholm, he offered some sage advice for aspiring athletes.

"I know that 6.30m is possible" - Mondo Duplantis

When Mondo Duplantis clears world record heights in the pole vault, he makes it look easy. And when he talks about how high he might jump in future, he sounds like a man discussing what he is going to have for dinner next Wednesday. In Monaco, the Swedish superstar casually suggested that at some point, he might even go above 6.30m. 

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