Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Asian and Qatar athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, announced the initial list of champions taking part in the Doha Diamond League meeting, the season’s first round, on 6 May. Al Hamad, speaking at a packed press conference held at the InterContinental Doha, attended by Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, deputy meeting director and secretary general of the Qatar Athletics Federation, and Talal Mansour, Asia’s golden arrow and head of a newly created committee at the domestic federation, said Qatar’s hosting of the Diamond League meeting this year coincides with a historic period for sport in Qatar, following the major successes achieved by Qatari athletics this year through the brilliance of promising champion Abdalelah Haroun at the World Indoor Championships in the United States, where he won silver and broke the record in the 500m, in addition to Qatar’s various achievements at continental level.
An elite field of champions
Al Hamad said this year’s edition would see the outstanding participation of Olympic and world championship medallists from recent years, including 2008 Olympic champion and 2011 and 2013 world 400m gold medallist LaShawn Merritt, world 1500m title-holder Asbel Kiprop, and 2015 world high jump champion Derek Drouin.
Dahlan Al Hamad said: The Diamond League meeting has been held annually since 2010, and has established itself as one of the most important rounds of the Diamond League during the season.
Raising awareness of athletics
Over these years we have brought dozens of the world’s athletics stars to Doha, and succeeded in raising awareness of our sport and inspiring a growing number of young people to take it up with strong ambition to shine and succeed. Many of them have since developed and are today ready to compete against their favourite champions.
Most members of Qatar’s Olympic team, in addition to a large number of young athletes, will be making their first appearance in outdoor competition here, facing the best athletes in the world at a top-level international championship held in Qatar — the Doha Diamond League meeting.
Al Hamad noted that the Doha meeting has, since 2010, firmly established itself as one of the most important rounds of the Diamond League during the season, and that over these years we have brought many stars to Doha and inspired many young people to take up the sport with great ambition for success, and that they are now ready to compete against their favourite champions.
Always looking for better
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad said: Despite athletics’ good results this year, they left us with some bitterness, because we had hoped for three medals rather than one — since our first participation at the World Indoor Championships in 1993, our Qatari champions have consistently placed highly, finishing in the top five, which is a rare feat for any country in the history of this championship.
Haroun deserved his silver medal
Al Hamad praised promising champion Abdalelah Haroun, saying that despite his young age — 19 — his performance in the 400m was superb, and that only Pavel Maslak, an indoor specialist, beat him in the final, leaving him to settle for second place. He said Haroun frankly deserved praise for the mental and physical strength with which he overcame the fatigue that followed two tough qualifying races.
Bad luck denies Musaab
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad went on to speak about our talented champion Musaab Abdulrahman, saying he had been unlucky and let slip the final and a chance at the podium after having already secured his place in the 800m final, when light contact with runner Antoine Gakeme on the final bend caused him to stumble and lose his balance just as he was preparing to launch his final push.
He added: We would have liked our champions to be with us today, but the huge demands of the outdoor season and the busy schedule of preparations for the Rio Olympics do not allow them a single minute’s rest, as they continue their preparations alongside the three athletes Femi Ogunode, Ashraf Amjad Al Seifi and Mohammed Al Garni, who have already qualified for the Olympics and form an outstanding team capable of achieving great things in Rio. I am very optimistic that this team will win a medal and also reach five finals.
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad added that all the champions had faced serious tests recently and had succeeded in them, at continental and world level, from the youth category through to the men’s category.
The spearhead of Qatar’s achievements
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad noted that Qatari athletics has always accepted every challenge despite the pressures, because it represents for us both an enjoyment and a responsibility towards a sport and a country that is by no means a simple matter — especially as athletics is now the spearhead of Qatari sport’s achievements, having managed to create history for Qatari sport. He said he hoped this journey would continue, and that they were determined it would, since there were men standing behind the sport working to develop it.
He explained: Having the Diamond League in an Olympic year is a challenge for the athletes, but we must recognise that the Diamond League is a stage in their preparation, and the best opportunity for an athlete to enter real competition and confirm his readiness. He noted that, throughout history, top athletes have never stayed away from these championships on the grounds that they might affect Olympic readiness.
IAAF banking on Barshim to break Sotomayor’s record
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad defended our golden, Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim, saying Barshim represents a big bet for the IAAF to break the high jump world record, which has stood for more than twenty years and is held by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor at 2.45m. He added that Barshim had been on course to defend his world indoor title but suffered an injury that prevented him from continuing, and Al Hamad said Barshim had handled the matter intelligently by not continuing to compete, since doing so could have harmed him and possibly cost him his Olympic place, given that injury is always a risk in athletics — especially in the high jump, which involves fairly complex technique.
Al Hamad said: I admit my view of Barshim is not impartial — he is one of the best athletes in the world, and all the world’s champions suffer injuries. I consider Barshim smart for not being stubborn and pushing himself, or we would have lost him for the Olympics.
Coe working hard for the future of athletics
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations, praised the efforts of Lord Sebastian Coe, president of the IAAF, saying he is working hard to reunite the world athletics family. I place my full trust in him, he said, because I know him well and consider him a colleague and a partner; he is working hard to take athletics to the highest level, and through teamwork the federation will be in a better position over the coming period, worldwide.
