Senegal’s Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), expressed his great appreciation for the State of Qatar, leadership and people, for their great interest in sport in general and athletics in particular. Diack said, at a press conference yesterday morning at the InterContinental Doha, ahead of the first leg of the athletics Diamond League to be held today on the track and field at Sheikh Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium at Qatar SC, that Doha is hosting the Diamond League challenge for the fifth consecutive time since the competition was established in its new format, after Qatar had previously organised it under the name Super Grand Prix. He added: “We value Qatar’s role in caring for athletics, and we value Qatar’s great efforts in developing the sport and taking it to the best levels, and that is no surprise given the presence of HH the Amir of the country, patron of sporting development, as president of the Olympic committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee, as well as the efforts of the secretary general, HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations and IAAF vice-president. I know the Qatari capabilities and interest in athletics well, and this is proof of Qatar’s success in athletics.”
Big names in the challenge
Lamine Diack said the Doha Diamond League meeting would shine with the big names taking part, such as Olympic and world champion Mutaz Barshim in the high jump, as well as the fastest woman on earth, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Ethiopia’s Dibaba, holder of outstanding marks and excelling in the 3000m, alongside Jamaican champion Warren Weir, who excels in sprinting, and many other male and female runners and champions among the holders of Olympic and world medals, whose number is estimated at fifty athletes, which makes the meeting more exciting, competitive and technically successful.
Diamond figures
Diack said the Diamond League has come to command the attention it deserves worldwide through 14 meetings starting in Doha and ending in Brussels, across 32 disciplines in the challenge, with prize money reaching 8 million dollars and a growing audience from one meeting to the next. The IAAF president added that last year’s Diamond League meetings were followed by up to 165 million viewers, whether at the venue or on television screens in cities around the world, according to IAAF figures, and further growth in following the Diamond League meetings is expected.
Smart partnership
The IAAF president considered their partnership with the media a key reason for the sport’s successes and the interest and reach it has gained, allowing it to attract attention better than in the past. He said that, as part of this smart partnership with the media, they were announcing the renewal of their contract with the Diamond League committees until 2019, thereby reminding everyone of the challenges ahead over the next five years in the athletics Diamond League meetings.
Support matters
The Senegalese official affirmed that the door is open to various companies to join the sponsors of this major event, especially since the IAAF is seeking sponsorship with any of the various airlines for further support and success, noting that sponsorship revenues always benefit the athletes given their previous incentives, which did not exceed limited amounts.
Concern over Rio
Asked for his comment on the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics, Diack said he did not hide his concern about the situation in Brazil, but hoped things would be fine by the time of the Games.
