HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, praised the preparations Qatar has made in its bid to host the 2019 World Championships. Speaking at the press conference of the IAAF delegation that concluded its visit to Doha to evaluate the 2019 bid, he said Qatar values athletics greatly, and that the visit by the IAAF delegation was a good opportunity to see Qatar’s development in sport generally and in athletics in particular, saying athletics holds an important place in Qatar’s achievements – even at the Asian Games, most of Qatar’s medals came from athletics, with a share of seven medals – and that Qatar has Olympic champions and world champions in athletics, which means the sport holds a special place, and that Qatar has the best facilities, the best anti-doping detection centre and the best competition facilities in athletics, which is evidence of the development of athletics in Qatar, from which development will spread to the whole region, noting that Qatar represents the present and future of athletics, and hoping Qatar earns the honour of hosting the championship as an extension of Qatar’s successes in organising and hosting championships
He said one of the main aims during this visit was to show the true picture of our lively city through presentations that were extremely precise and free of any exaggeration. The sports facilities in our beloved capital have developed enormously in a relatively short time, and these facilities and leading sports centres have won admiration from many countries around the world. He added: “Our capital has long hosted numerous prominent sporting events and has regularly hosted the annual Diamond League athletics meetings since 1997. There is no doubt that possessing such deep experience, backed by broad knowledge, will guarantee a successful hosting of this championship, and the launch of the 2019 World Athletics Championships on this region’s soil will give it the chance to become a historic event showcasing the skills of the world’s leading athletes in front of a new generation of enthusiastic fans and athletes. There is no doubt it will be a genuine turning point in the championship’s history and a new beginning in the world of sporting competitions
