HE Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, revealed a new global achievement for Qatari sport in general and athletics in particular, after our golden champion, the great sprinter Ogunode, was announced as a nominee for Asia’s best athlete — confirming Qatar’s contribution to developing sport, particularly athletics, an achievement that would not have been possible without the support and guidance of HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of Qatar, and the close attention of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of the Qatar Olympic Committee. Major General Al Hamad noted that Ogunode’s selection is a great achievement that delights everyone and confirms the excellence of Qatari sport for what it has contributed to the course of world and continental sport, saying: “There is no doubt that the selection of our golden champion Ogunode by the Olympic Council of Asia, chaired by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, has delighted us and confirmed beyond doubt that Qatari sport has been and remains the focus of attention and a benchmark for the future through the work put in and the effort made, and none of this would have been possible without the great support and guidance of HH the Amir of the country, whose generous hand has supported sport worldwide and in Qatar”
Major General Al Hamad added: “Ogunode’s selection was not a surprise at all, as it came on the nomination of the Olympic Council of Asia, which found in our champion everything needed for the future success of Qatari sport, especially given his record-breaking performances and his numerous first-place finishes in the world’s strongest races, which helped make him an ideal representative for the Asian continent, especially after breaking the Asian record in the 200m at the recent Brussels Diamond League meeting, having previously broken the Asian 100m record — which helps motivate the continent’s champions to reach excellence in the coming period, and is in fact a sign of the ability of the champions of the yellow continent to be among the leaders in the coming period, alongside champions from other continents”
Major General Al Hamad noted that Ogunode’s nomination will represent the Asian continent, but that there are other champions from other continents who will be honoured at the major Olympic ceremony scheduled for 29 October in Washington, USA, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Olympic committees, and considered that Ogunode’s presence would be a sign of Qatar’s role, throughout the world, in developing sport and working to translate the future into its best form, because the goal is not to work temporarily but to build generations capable of continuing the march of achievements and new records
Major General Al Hamad stressed that Qatar has many champions and Asia too has its champions, and that every champion seeks to give their best through the full oversight of those supervising them from the federation, coaches and technical specialists, and — most importantly — that Qatari sport works according to a vision aimed at the future, not merely to preserve the achievement of one champion and stop there, and considered that Ogunode’s nomination was heart-warming and confirmed that Qatari sport has been and remains a world leader, particularly athletics, which has seen many successes thanks to the great support of officials
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad noted that the honour of our champion’s selection will be a motivation for all of Qatar’s athletics champions to put in more effort and work towards excellence in the coming period, just as is the case across the Asian continent, because every champion seeks to present a distinguished image and work towards complete excellence, not merely to win a medal and stop there, and considered that every one of Qatar’s athletics champions deserves appreciation and attention, because everyone is working to honour their country in every event and on every track
Major General Al Hamad confirmed that the Asian continent will see a great deal of work in the coming period to bring the new generation to the best achievements befitting the world’s largest continent, and that the Asian federation has begun working to intensify activity and pursue new championships and a vision that keeps pace with the times, and that every federation is now responsible for how it works to be present in the world with champions who achieve victories and break records
