President of the Asian and Qatar athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, said all his country’s venues that will host the 2019 World Athletics Championships will be ready a year before the major event, affirming that the continent of Asia is more united today than ever before. Doha had beaten the Spanish city of Barcelona and the American city of Eugene last November, earning the honour of hosting the first championships of this kind in the Middle East region, with the championships to be held from 28 September to 6 October 2019.
Major General Al Hamad told AFP in an interview: “We began work from the very first moment we were honoured with the hosting, and all the venues will be ready by 2018, chief among them Khalifa International Stadium, which is undergoing extensive renovation to host the World Championships and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.” He continued: “The banner we raised was innovation, and we focused on this in the bid file we submitted. Among the most prominent innovations will be building a dedicated athletes’ village for the first time since the World Championships began, as part of a residential project where the athletes will mix with local residents and visitors. Generally, the athletes’ village is closed off, and no one is allowed in without a permit, but things will be completely different in 2019. Hence the idea of locating the village in the city centre, so that the public can interact with the athletes in the shopping centres within this project.”
He added: “We have given priority to the metro line linking the airport with the project and Khalifa Stadium, so that it can be used by the athletes, IAAF officials and members of the press.”
He explained: “We have also decided to hold the men’s and women’s marathon at night, which will happen for the first time. The night marathon will be a breakthrough in road races, and given that it will be the first time a marathon is held at night at a major championships, and to guard against any hitches, we will organise a night marathon in 2018 and invite the leading runners to take part, so that on the one hand they can get used to the conditions, and on the other we can try to learn from any mistakes, so as to avoid them at the World Championships.”
He continued: “On the administrative side, committees have been formed to draw up the budget for hosting a championships of this scale.”
On the legacy the championships could leave, Al Hamad — who was also re-elected as vice-president of the IAAF under its new president, Sebastian Coe, for a new four-year term — said: “The State of Qatar committed in its bid file to building 10 tracks around the world in countries in need. Given that Qatar has succeeded in hosting numerous sporting championships in recent years, we are committed, through this championships, to developing the sport of athletics around the world. In fact, every sporting event we have hosted has left a legacy in the country, and the best example of that is the recent World Handball Championship earlier this year, where people’s conversation in the country revolved around this championships, and interest in the sport grew among the younger generation. This is what we want from hosting the World Athletics Championships.” He continued: “This championships will strengthen the meeting of East and West, and will be extremely important for the countries of the region in a number of sporting and economic respects.”
Al Hamad revealed: “There is an idea to hold an international indoor championships in cooperation with Aspire Academy, and we are in discussions with the IAAF to get the green light to hold it annually at a suitable time of year, to make use of the wonderful facilities the sporting academy has.” Among the other prominent ideas the Qatar federation intends to implement is encouraging street athletics and holding activities in this regard, and he said in this respect: “As is the case in Britain and Germany, we are seeking to encourage street athletics by holding competitions in heritage sites such as Souq Waqif or Katara Cultural Village, because that would promote the sport and encourage people to take it up.”
Asia the biggest winner
Major General Al Hamad considered Asia to have been the biggest winner in the IAAF elections held shortly before the recent World Championships in China in the middle of last month, saying: “If we count it in numbers, we currently hold 7 of the 27 seats on the new Council, two more than in the previous elections, meaning we now represent 25 percent.”
He continued: “But the greatest satisfaction was seeing Asia more united than ever before. The yellow continent has often seen divisions in the past, but my main task when I was elected president two years ago (my term was renewed for a new four years last June) was to work on unifying visions and overall strategy, and here was the great victory, because we sent a message to the world that from now on we are working as one hand, for the good of the sport worldwide. We currently have an excellent group within the IAAF.”
On the continental federation’s next steps: “We are still facing the challenge of developing Asia and improving results, which we consider fundamental. We have enormous potential that must be harnessed, with the necessary programmes put in place to achieve results at international events. India, for example, is a continent in itself and has great potential and must be helped, and we also want to put in place programmes for smaller countries that lack the financial resources.”
