A few hours before the start of the Doha 2014 meeting, the opening round of the athletics Diamond League, Souq Waqif in the heart of the Qatari capital saw a visit from a number of world athletics stars, who came to take some souvenir photos.
Souq Waqif is one of the most important heritage landmarks in the heart of the Qatari capital, Doha, with its old shops offering a wide range of traditional goods, from clothes and food to jewellery, perfumes and souvenirs, and even pets, in addition to restaurants and cafes catering to different tastes, as well as shisha.
The world stars expressed their great amazement at Souq Waqif and made a point of buying souvenirs.
Among the champions who visited Souq Waqif were American hurdlers David Oliver and Ryan Wilson, along with Dominican Republic sprinter Luguelin Santos, London Olympics silver medallist, who expressed their admiration for what they saw at this historic and heritage site. They also enjoyed spending some time away from competition, browsing the traditional shops and the gold souq, and took numerous photos with shop owners, vendors, tourists, and also police officers in their traditional dress on horseback.
Oliver, the 2013 world champion in the 110m hurdles, is no stranger to the Qatari capital, as he holds the meeting record for the event in Doha, 12.95 seconds, set in the 2008 edition.
The American runner, also a bronze medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, expressed his happiness at returning once again to the Qatari capital, saying “It’s great to be back here again, this is the place where I first broke the 13-second barrier, I have wonderful memories here, Doha is also a wonderful place and I really love visiting it”
His compatriot Wilson, silver medallist at last year’s World Championships, confirmed he was eagerly awaiting his first appearance in Doha next Friday, saying “The competition will be tough, there are many good runners in the race, I can’t wait, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the race starting, my goal is to run my season’s best, and perhaps even my personal best this season for this event, why not”.
It’s a similar story for Santos, who surprised the world at the London Olympics by winning silver at the age of 18, and who will make his first appearance in Doha tomorrow.
Santos said: I’m very happy to be here, this is my first time, and Doha is a beautiful and enjoyable city, I hope to run a strong and fast race, and I think the competition for the title will be tough, and Santos will enter the Doha meeting full of confidence after beating the world champion in the same event, LaShawn Merritt, last Saturday at a meeting in Kingston, Jamaica..
