Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatari and Asian athletics federations, announced the start of preparations to host the sixth edition of the Doha Diamond League meeting, due to be held on 15 May next on the field and track of the Sheikh Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium at Qatar Sports Club. At a global press conference held today, he affirmed that the Doha meeting, the opening stage of the Diamond League, would as usual see major global participation from male and female world and Olympic champions in athletics. The president of the Qatari and Asian federations revealed that, for the first time, Doha would host the IAAF’s ‘Athlete of the Year,’ Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, who last year achieved what had seemed impossible by breaking Sergey Bubka’s legendary pole vault record, with no athlete having been able to clear 6.16 m. He said the men’s pole vault would give us the indoor and outdoor world champions, Raphael Holzdeppe and Konstantinos Filippidis, and added that we would once again have the chance in the 100 m to see the fastest man in the world for 2014, American sprinter Justin Gatlin, silver medallist at the 2013 World Championships.
He explained that Justin Gatlin was expected to face a challenge from three world-class sprinters: 2013 Games bronze medallist Nesta Carter, the fourth-fastest man in the world for 2014, Mike Rodgers, and of course Kim Collins, one of the finest elite sprinters and a role model for young athletes.
Al Hamad said he also expected the triple jump to be one of the world-class competitions, saying “we are proud,” as the field includes world champion Teddy Tamgho and Olympic champion Christian Taylor. In the women’s events, Al Hamad confirmed that the organising committee had succeeded in securing the participation of Olympic 100 m hurdles gold medallist and former IAAF ‘Female Athlete of the Year,’ Australia’s Sally Pearson, as well as the event’s new star, American world champion Brianna Rollins, and 2008 Olympic champion and 2014’s fastest hurdler in the world, Dawn Harper-Nelson.
He explained that the 400 m would feature an elite of world champions: last year’s number-one ranked American, Francena McCorory, and former IAAF ‘Female Athlete of the Year,’ also from the United States, Sanya Richards-Ross, and confirmed that more prominent names would be announced later as 15 May draws closer.
