Hubert Lawrence | A new decade of sports is here, enjoy the ride

German table tennis star Timo Boll has made a habit of switching hands to make spectacular shots. When the ball is wide to his backhand and out of reach, the 38-year-old left-hander instinctively moves his racquet to his right hand.

Invariably, he makes a safe and strong forehand topspin that allows him to get back into the rally. Then he switches back.

The movement is as natural as Usain Bolt moving the baton from left hand to right on the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay.

Boll isn’t the first table tennis player to switch hands in the middle of a point. He probably won’t be the last, but in this new decade, don’t be surprised if ambidextrous play is seen far more often.

In the same spirit of evolution, the 2018 European Athletics Championships unveiled a new format.

Seeded runners joined the fray at the semi-final stage with lower-rated competitors racing in the first round for the right to join them. At the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, organisers dispensed with the first round completely. The action simply started with the semis.

In this new decade, these experiments will set the tone for the evolution of international competition.

New events will make their way on to the programme as well. The mixed 4x400m relay debuted at the World Championship last year. It prickled the purists but was generally well received. One can only wonder if the mixed 4x100m is next.

Experiments with this event have already been done. In fact, Bolt competed in the mixed 4x100m in a series of meets in Australia before he retired.

The 2020 Olympics will arrive in this atmosphere. Glitzy introductions and up-even-closer camera angles will literally put the viewer on the field of play with the competitors.

PERFORMANCE STILL KING

One thing won’t change. Even with all these new bells and whistles, performance will still be king.

That is the substance of sport. Without fast times, big jumps and throws, wickets and runs, without big goals, prospective fans will turn their attention elsewhere. The performances and the stories of great athletes will still be the glue that holds sport together.

Will Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce do the unprecedented and win a third Olympic 100 metre gold? Will Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Abderrahman Samba go past Kevin Young’s 400-metre hurdles world record of 46.78? Will Tajay Gayle long jump even further than 8.69m? Will Marita Koch’s 1985 world 400-metre mark of 47.60 seconds fall when Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser and the tall Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo meet again? What about the triple jump records held since 1995 by Jonathon Edwards and Inessa Kravets, and the shot record held by Randy Barnes? All three were under threat in 2019.

Can Omar McLeod join Americans Lee Calhoun and Roger Kingdom as a two-time Olympic 110m hurdles gold medallist? Will his opponents include Russian Sergey Shubenkov?

Away from track and field, there will be much interest in swimming star Alia Atkinson.

The breaststroke ace has done almost everything a swimmer could dream of, by winning world titles and setting world records. It would be great if she could top it all off with an Olympic medal.

Whatever happens, she has already inspired onlookers in Jamaica and around the world.

Sports fans here will also have their eyes on Liverpool in the English Premiership and on tennis star Serena Williams. Liverpool are in pole position to chase their 19th English title and Williams seeks a record total of Grand Slam victories.

It’s a new decade and new stars will emerge. Enjoy the ride.

Hubert Lawrence has scrutinised local and international athletics since 1980.