The Doha Diamond League meeting will remain a beacon of success among global events……
The Qatar 2019 World Championships will confirm Qatar’s excellence in hosting the world’s most important events……
Our male champions are capable of achieving great things .. and our female champions are on the way to complete excellence…
Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, said the Doha Diamond League meeting would see a great deal of exciting competition and fierce rivalry for the top places, especially given the wide participation of an elite group of world champions. He said surprises were to be expected and that there was great hope for a distinctive Qatari stamp on the achievements delivered by our national team’s athletes, who are aiming for a strong start in this Olympic year. In an interview with the Qatari press, he noted that Qatari athletics had always sought, and continues to seek, excellence in every event and every place, to confirm successful work and a determination to honour Qatari sport
He said that any championship held in Qatar has its own sporting and social benefit, being a journey in search of a complete culture through competition on the track and field, and that the work has always been aimed at achieving a successful outcome in any event, and that Qatar has witnessed and will continue to witness the emergence of talents capable of delivering a great deal. He stressed his confidence in our champions and their pursuit of the best in every event, as he also noted in his meeting with the local press hours before the start of the Doha meeting that this year’s line-up of participants promises a great deal of excitement and closely-matched competition, especially since many of them are world record-holders and Olympic medallists. He said Qatari athletics has a women’s team that keeps developing, with the goal of bringing it to full excellence, and spoke of the great ambitions for the Rio Olympics, particularly given the qualification of a notable number of our national team’s athletes, saying he hopes they will reach the podium. He also said the clubs are an essential partner in the success of the domestic athletics movement, since talent springs from the clubs and is honed there before reaching the national teams. He noted that athletics forms part of his life, in a journey in search of whatever reflects Qatar’s own excellence, and said the World Championships in Qatar in 2019 will leave a major mark on the course of world athletics. Let us follow what he said in response to journalists’ questions
*** We have a fresh appointment with the Doha Diamond League meeting .. so what’s new this season?
— A new meeting and a fresh challenge .. what’s new is that we keep attracting an elite group of world champions and strive to offer the strongest competitions for athletics fans, in the heart of Qatar, which has become a land of championships and successes .. Naturally, our champions’ participation means a great deal to us, and we hope to achieve the best possible results, since this is an Olympic year and every result will be a positive indicator for every coach .. every champion .. and even every federation .. and perhaps a signal for the media itself .. We are constantly working to keep our meeting shining bright .. delivering a great deal of excitement and pleasing everyone present with speed .. excellence .. and a strong crowd turnout, which is the hardest number to achieve at any event
*** Does the Doha meeting benefit Qatari athletics?
— Any championship held in Qatar has its sporting and social benefit, being a journey in search of a complete culture through competition on the track and field .. a culture of love for athletics and instilling that love in a 
new, complete generation, because any championship serves the future of the sport .. and the coming generation .. In the past there was the Qatar International meeting, then the Grand Prix, and everyone saw it as just an event .. now the Doha meeting has become a passion many pursue in order to follow the highest, fastest and strongest … And I would add that any event held in Qatar falls within our long-term plan .. Vision 2030, a vision for the future through the lens of human, social and sporting success ..
*** But are you satisfied with the Qatari participation in this meeting?
— There is more than one type of participation in this meeting … Our champions’ participation is significant in that it marks the start of an important season .. names like Mutaz Essa Barshim, Abdalelah Haroun and Femi, and so their participation is meant to gauge their readiness for the most important event, the Olympics .. We hope our champions excel here on Doha soil .. but at the same time our goal is to achieve excellence at the biggest global event of all, this time set for Rio
*** This leads us to ask about the importance of our participation in the Olympics and what you are aiming for?
— It’s true our goal has been to work towards the best possible participation at the Rio Olympics, because we are seeking to honour Qatari sport and win medals of every colour. This requires long preparation, complete focus and a determination to choose whatever helps our champions excel. There is no doubt our participation this time at the Olympics will bring many pleasant surprises, as a good number of our champions have reached the qualifying standards, which will help us achieve whatever can be achieved and befits our beloved country. Success ultimately rests with God, and we hope injuries stay away from all our champions
*** Do you think our champions are capable of winning new Olympic medals given the fierce competition, especially from sprint and jump champions?
— I have said success is never a matter of chance .. it comes through long work, perseverance, well-laid plans and great effort from the administrative and technical staff, down to our participating champions .. So what we naturally aspire to is achieving excellence and winning top medals .. but at the same time we don’t deny that just as we are working, others are working too, and there are marks already out there — if you want to surpass them you have to deliver the best, the strongest, and the highest level of focus
*** Are you very confident our champions can achieve excellence?
— There is always confidence that our champions will achieve something that honours Qatari sport in any overseas participation, but any event brings plenty of surprises .. so it’s hard to predict who will be the champion or take gold, silver or bronze … because it’s a world of numbers .. a world of surprises .. and a world where so much comes down to fractions of a second, making it hard to call .. But what’s certain is that we are looking forward to a great achievement that surpasses what was achieved at the previous Olympics, and success ultimately rests with God
*** Was what was achieved at the Asian Championships in Doha a positive sign?
— The Asian Championships have their own circumstances .. and the Olympics have theirs .. the two events cannot be compared at all .. because each event has its own preparations, standards and goals .. We excelled, thank God, at the Asian Championships .. our champions rose to the occasion and succeeded in taking the top places .. despite clear competition from the continent’s champions .. but here we are talking about an Olympics full of world champions and record-breaking marks, so achieving excellence requires focus, determination and unmatched resolve, and I am confident our national team’s champions will present nothing less than an image befitting Qatari sport
*** Do you think the Rio Olympics mark a new beginning for world athletics?
— World athletics is beginning a new journey since the new council took office .. because everything that came before is now under the microscope of the investigating committees .. so everyone is starting a search for complete transparency .. for clean championships and competitions, and steering clear of anything that harms world athletics — that is, shedding the crises that have battered the sport and bringing it to safety. It is certain the Rio Olympics will mark a new beginning towards a constructive journey involving a great deal of effort to restore the prestige of world athletics and everyone within its family
*** Is world athletics in danger?
— Athletics suffered a major shock over the past period … but it has begun to move past it with the federation’s new council, which has put in place many incentives to achieve full transparency, meticulous work 
and close monitoring .. because if you want to bring athletics to complete success, it requires a great deal of work, many studies and a determination from every member of the family to pursue excellence and steer clear of anything that harms it .. and I am confident the IAAF, under Lord Coe’s leadership, is capable of restoring its shine in the period ahead. So athletics is not in danger — rather, it is going through a new phase full of the language of a bright future
*** Are you satisfied with your role at the IAAF?
— That is something for the IAAF General Assembly to judge, and it is they who will give their opinion in the years ahead .. I would not have become a vice-president on the Council had I not found great trust from the member federations that make up the world athletics family. So I do what serves world athletics, and of course I represent my country, and I am honoured to serve world sport while wearing the garb of Qatari sport
*** You are president of the Asian federation — have you begun to achieve what you set out to do in awakening the sleeping Asian giant?
— Our journey is a long one .. and needs a great deal of work .. but the Asian continent has become firmly at the heart of the competition in every global event .. It’s true our ambitions remain far greater .. but we have made a great deal of progress over the past period .. our champions may well be a positive example of the major development of Asian athletics, given what it now achieves in every world championship, indoor and outdoor, and the new benchmark will be the Olympics. Asia has always been, and remains, the heart of world athletics and the most transparent of all the continents
*** You began major work through the new committees — has the harvest begun?
— We are still at the start of the road. The committees were formed some time ago and have begun producing plans for the future, and of course they still have a great deal of work ahead to reach our big ambitions. While we have worked to create a positive atmosphere within these federations, naturally the work needs time before we begin reaping what is achieved
*** Having more than seven members from Asia on the IAAF Council — would you call that a new success?
— Yes .. a resounding success, and proof that Asia now has a say in the IAAF Council, giving the continent itself voices that help shape the course of a new era for world athletics .. We were pleased with the number, and we worked for it .. and we will translate what we have pursued into action that serves the course of world athletics, and Asia as well
*** Before closing our domestic season, there were many positive signs regarding the distribution of titles .. how do you view this?
— There’s no doubt the season has ended as far as domestic championships go, but the evaluation hasn’t. We are studying every report and identifying every strength and weakness so we can address them in the future .. but honestly, I am pleased with the success achieved in terms of the clubs’ positive participation and their strong drive to reach the podium, which confirms that the clubs’ management have spared no effort in developing their champions and their future in athletics .. To be more precise, athletics at club level has become far better, and there is now greater work and effort that has produced stronger competition for every title in every category
*** Have your relations with the clubs perhaps contributed to motivating them and reaching where domestic athletics stands today?
— We are following a single path .. the path of partnership for the future of Qatari athletics .. the club is the foundation for strong national teams, and if the clubs do their work the harvest will be great. That’s why we constantly strive to keep the relationship at its best and to achieve whatever serves domestic athletics, tirelessly, because the clubs are a train that keeps moving, carrying a great deal of talent capable of delivering excellence for the national teams. What was achieved this season was the product of joint work with the clubs, and we are pleased with the positive fruits we have reached
*** The 2019 World Championships is the dream that became reality by being hosted in the heart of Doha — what does this, the most important event of all, mean to you?
— It is a nation’s dream .. and a great challenge to confirm Qatar’s excellence in hosting the world’s biggest events .. because in our country we are used to setting out on the path of striving .. to achieve good fruit and complete success .. We are not seeking just a championship, but complete successes that point to the State of Qatar … through success, loyalty and triumph .. We are not seeking to host just any event .. but comprehensive excellence .. Yes, the athletics World Championships is a dream, a challenge and a journey in search of a new achievement .. organisationally .. technically .. and winning the first gold medal by bringing every last detail safely home
*** Khalifa Stadium will host this event — will everything go as well as possible?
— Khalifa Stadium will rise to the occasion in welcoming the most important event in an unprecedented championship .. with a determination to give the event a distinctive image and a record level of participation .. There’s no doubt the dream is a big one .. and we will work to make it a reality bearing a Qatari stamp
*** Does the new generation show promise of being present at this most important event?
— We are working towards a strong participation on our home soil, with our dream fully intact .. Naturally, the ambitions are great that the present and future generation will rise to the occasion at Khalifa Stadium, writing achievements befitting our country and our dream .. This of course requires a great deal of work, carefully studied plans and strong support, and of course our self-belief means the journey will continue with the support of our leadership and its commitment to keeping Qatari sport’s journey of excellence going
*** Have we made an advanced step with our future female champions?
— Yes, our national teams’ female champions have begun reaping the fruits of a long effort .. because the great support boils down to Qatari girls proving their excellence on the track and field by achieving results that match our ambitions .. We won’t deny that we still find ourselves at the beginning .. but we are confident today’s female champions will give a great deal in any upcoming events, as Sarah Al Menaai recently did at the West Asian Championships, and perhaps what’s next will be even better .. but we are working to build a complete generation capable of a clear presence at every upcoming event
*** Can the Arab female champion assert herself at upcoming events?
— The Arab and Gulf female champion may have proven her presence at many world championships and Olympics in previous years .. perhaps at Gulf level she hasn’t yet reached the level of ambition .. but we believe the challenge is coming, and that working on talent must eventually produce female champions capable of achieving a great deal in the future. But this needs time, support and backing — not the opposite
*** What does athletics mean to you?
— A great deal, a very great deal .. it is a life I live within another life .. I live it day by day .. event by event .. championship by championship .. meeting by meeting .. I live its joy in every victorious face .. and I feel the loser’s pain in every runner who falls back in a race .. and I see the tear of joy in every anthem played for my country’s victory .. Athletics has become part of my life .. and I live for its joy, and nothing else
** Does the media’s role help support your work at the domestic and continental federations?
— The media is like a lighthouse shining on your path to success — it may criticise you and it may motivate you, but by its nature it is at your side to light the way. There’s no doubt the media in every country has its own character, but naturally we have an excellent partnership with the local media for a successful journey, and we welcome anything that serves domestic athletics. As for the foreign media, it has its own different viewpoints depending on the picture in any given event
*** And what about your closing word?
— I would urge every athletics fan in Qatar to head to Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium at Qatar SC on Friday to experience an unforgettable night of fierce competition between the world’s male and female champions. And I say to every fan of world athletics: whoever wants speed will find it, whoever seeks height will jump with every participant towards the best marks, and whoever looks for strength will see the strongest of all on display .. This is a land for challenge, and you should follow who comes out on top, but one thing is certain — everyone will have their own achievement, whether by attending, competing, or following what unfolds
