It seems to be a bit of an American thing, being blessed. At least as far as athletics is concerned.

To explain...well, let's go back a bit.

One of the moments in world athletics I most regret missing was a press conference ahead of the 1991 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Tokyo involving the multiple Olympic and world champion Carl Lewis.

As the pre-eminent athlete of his age (at least, according to him), Lewis had drawn a large international media audience, but he began to appear troubled as unaccountable bursts of noise - sometimes indicating joy, sometimes frustration - punctuated the lengthy proceedings. The British media seemed to be involved.

Afterwards, Lewis's manager Joe Douglas enquired of a Brit what had been going on. It turned out there had been a sweepstake on how many times Lewis would use the term "focus" at the press conference. Some were conservative in their estimate, suggesting three or four foci, and as the total passed beyond their estimates they voiced their dismay, while others openly rejoiced. I think the final total was 17, but it was a long time ago and besides, I wasn't there.

King Carl in his pomp - Carl Lewis is chaired by his 4x100m team-mates at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where Lewis won four golds ©Getty Images

"You British guys, you kill me!" was Douglas's sporting reaction.

But over the years, Lewis's compatriots have exacted their revenge. Like some dreadful virus, "focus" just won't go away.

And other buzz words have been added to the US lexicon in the meantime.

During last year's athletics circuit, for instance, it felt like there were more executions than in the French Revolution.

So many races, more than you could imagine, were "all about executing".

But they were also, let us not forget, all about "having fun". Having fun executing.

And how did the average US athlete, or - as this is something of a cultural thing - US-based athlete feel?

Well, they felt "blessed".  Which is nice, but...

In Stockholm this week, the press conferences staged ahead of today's IAAF Diamond League meeting threw up something of a diamond in terms of an example as Tori Bowie, the US long jumper and sprinter, put it all together in a fashion that was hard to improve upon:

"I guess first of all I just want to say this has been a blessing. It's been a fun year. It's all about going out there and executing, every race. It's all about going out there and learning how to run. So that's my main focus."

There it was, like a perfect jewel. And there was a second, smaller gem to come:

"Of course every athlete wants to win a gold medal, so that's what I'm hoping for."

US sprinter and long jumper Tori Bowie, pictured after winning the 100m at this year's IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome ©AFP/Getty Images

To be fair to Tori Bowie, she became a lot more interesting after this opening gambit as she spoke about the difficulties of switching between her two main events. But those buzzwords - it seems like someone Stateside is schooling a generation in blandness.

At such times, one seeks, desperately, the unbland. Although sometimes the unbland can exact its own heavy price.

Charged with writing press conference feature following Tomasz Majewski's gold medal performance in the London 2012 Olympic shot put final, I encountered an awkward truth - the Pole did not want to be at the press conference, and was making no secret of it.

Majewski's brutal treatment of three opening questions diverted media attention onto the bronze medallist Reese Hoffa, who began to describe his childhood adoption and subsequent reuniting with his birth mother. It was an affecting story, but it was a long story, and Majewski began ripping open a cereal bar and eating part of it before offering some to the silver medallist David Storl - who turned it down with a smile - and then to the interview moderator, who also demurred.

Storl was then asked about another touching matter, the recent death of his grandmother, to whom he had hoped to dedicate a gold medal. Majewski seemed to be wondering what kind of press conference this was turning out to be. "Are there any other questions?" he asked, looking as if he might be about to break the table in front of him apart and stride from the room, scattering journalists to either side of him.

The gold medallist was asked another question - and it was on the subject of his touchiness with the press. Would he, the questioner wondered, be able to deal with all the public and media interest back home in Poland for another four years, because - and here you slightly questioned the questioner's wisdom - he seemed "so short tempered" with the public.

Tomasz Majewski, London 2012 Olympic gold medallist in the shot, pictured on the rostrum with silver medallist David Storl (left) and bronze medallist Reese Hoffa, enjoyed his press conference a lot less than his competition ©Getty Images

"Four years," said Majewski,  lugubriously. "Another four years...it's nothing hard. You prepare for that. So you can do it."

It seemed fair to say that Majewski's publicity agent would be earning every zloty in future weeks and months.

Having been rebuffed earlier, I tried again: "Tomasz, you have been called the Silent Giant. Is that true, or is it a load of rubbish?"

The giant Pole seemed suddenly very tired. It had after all been a long hard day. "I don't know..." he ventured.

"Do you consider yourself to be a silent person?" I asked.

"Me? Silent?" He exploded into incredulous mirth before once more resembling a man struggling desperately to free himself from an unbearable situation. "Oh God, we are tired...."

Storl was then asked whether there had been a bet between him and his girlfriend, the discus thrower Julia Fischer, over who would get a medal. There was the sound you get when you release the steam on a pressure cooker. The steam was coming from Tomasz Majewski.

"Where you get this question?" he asked. "Please guys..."

US long jumper Brittney Reese, pictured winning the 2013 IAAF world title, had an interesting response to a question at the press conference ahead of the 2014 Stockholm IAAF Diamond League meeting ©AFP/Getty Images

Tough. But on balance, preferable to the bland. And for those seeking the unbland here in Stockholm, there was a choice example from Brittney Reese, the US world and Olympic long jumper, who in answer to the question "You have been to Sweden two or three times. What do you think about our great country?" responded: "I love coming here every time, despite the weather. Every time I come here it rains."

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. His latest book Foul Play – the Dark Arts of Cheating in Sport (Bloomsbury £8.99) is available at the insidethegames.biz shop. To follow him on Twitter click here.