British Lord Sebastian Coe, IAAF president, expressed his great happiness at visiting Doha once again, recalling fond memories from a visit twenty years ago when the city was undergoing a comprehensive renaissance and quickly rose through the ranks of glory and excellence. He thanked Qatar, government and people, for the generous hospitality and organisation and for the care, attention and appreciation shown to everyone. On behalf of the world athletics family, Lord Coe extended his thanks, appreciation and gratitude to HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of the Olympic Committee, and his deputy HE Sheikh Saoud bin Ali Al Thani, for kindly opening the Asian meeting’s proceedings, which he said reflected the extent of the support and care athletics enjoys in Qatar. This large Asian gathering, he added, confirms that Qatar attaches great importance to regional and international affairs and is fully aware of its responsibilities towards others.
Athletics at the Olympic summit
Lord Coe brought the Asian family the news that athletics had excelled at the Rio 2016 Olympics, both in terms of spectator attendance and the marks recorded by athletes, keeping its record as the top Olympic sport – a reflection of the world’s trust in us, though he said more work and effort were needed to address problems and obstacles.
Lord Coe added that his proposals on structural reform had been well received by member federations in the Americas and Europe. He said: “There are not many moments in our lives when we get a genuine chance to shape our future. A chance to lay the foundations for a structure that provides the strength and solid base the next generation can confidently build on.” Lord Coe’s reform vision can be summed up as follows: first, redefining roles and responsibilities, including empowering member national federations and ensuring stronger representation for regions or continents; second, empowering athletes to have a stronger voice within the IAAF; third, achieving a better gender balance within the IAAF’s structures; and fourth, providing independent structures to fight doping and ensure integrity and discipline. The proposed reform of the IAAF’s good-governance structure is expected to be put to a special congress of the federation for approval, to be held on 3 December 2016 in the Principality of Monaco, where representatives of the member national federations will vote on adopting two new constitutions or structures. Lord Coe concluded his remarks by wishing the Asian Athletics Association board success in its 85th meeting under the leadership of Dahlan Al Hamad in continuing on the path of development and progress towards excellence, especially as the Asian continent is young, developing and moving steadily towards the highest levels of sporting glory.
