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Meriam Jelliti
Doha
Qatar will come alive with world class athletics at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium and at the spectacular Corniche from Friday, with the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 kicking off in grand style.
The 10-day event will start late afternoon at the Khalifa Stadium, but the opening ceremony will be held late evening at the Corniche with the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani expected to attend the event. The opening will precede the women’s marathon, which is scheduled for 23:59 hrs start at the Corniche on Friday. The Corniche Road will be closed to public from 6pm to 5 am on Thursday and Friday.
This is the first time the marathons will run at such a time, finishing in the early hours of the morning. At midnight on day one, a field of about 70 runners will set off under floodlighting on a looped course along the waterfront of Corniche, connecting against the towering skyline.
The great occasion is expected to draw a large number of people to Corniche, where large screens will also be put up for the fans to witness the opening ceremony and the midnight marathon from various vantage points.
Perhaps, it is also for this reason that the International Athletics Associations Federation (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe said, “The Championships will hopefully be spectacular and excite many more young people, particularly in Qatar to become athletes.”
Given Qatar’s event hosting capabilities and especially sports, the Doha Worlds will be a treat for the local and international fans, and the global television audience.
Also for the first time, a world athletics championship will be held at an air-cooled stadium. The Khalifa International Stadium at Aspire Zone, is also one of the most advanced stadiums in terms of lighting and digital technology besides having an environmentally friendly cooling system.
A lot of fans including a young Ghanim al Sulaiti are eager to witness the spectacular event. “I have never been to Khalifa stadium, but I am eager for the experience. The stadium has an impressive technology. It is a great entertaining event and it shows how Qatar is involved in sports and is more than capable of hosting such big sport events,” he said.
“The success of these sport events is a proof that the 2022 FIFA World Cup will also be an outstanding one and beyond expectations. Frankly, I am not very aware of the preparations for the IAAF Championships, but I am planning on attending the marathons,” he added.
The entire stretch of Corniche from Sheraton roundabout to Corniche Grand Hamad Street will be closed for traffic along with some arterial road on September 26 and 27.
Another enthusiastic fan awaiting the marathon, Mohammad al Marri echoed the same sentiment. “It is not every day you witness a midnight marathon, I am definitely attending. It should be fun to watch athletes from around the world competing.”
Meanwhile, over 3,000 volunteers are dedicatedly working to ensure a successful championship. There are around 2000 athletes from 213 different countries are participating in the competitions with a high number of spectators expected on all of the ten days of the event.
Al Marri said: “Many of my family members and friends are attending; it is a pride to witness these big international events taking place in Doha.”
All eyes are on the Qatari high jump champion Mutaz Barshim, who will be defending his world title at home and in front of all his dedicated fans.
Sara al Adba is one of the fans who is ready to cheer for him and all Qatari athletes at the upcoming event. “I am very excited and cannot wait to go watch the IAAF World Championships. I have never been to Khalifa International Stadium. I have already bought my ticket and I will be going with my friends, I will cheer for all the Qatari athletes and I am very hopeful of a Qatari win,” she exclaimed.
The ten-day sporting spectacular is expected to be different at all levels, “Every championship wants to look back and say it did something differently and I think Qatar will be no different,” is how Coe had put it and rightly so one would say.
Doha
Qatar will come alive with world class athletics at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium and at the spectacular Corniche from Friday, with the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 kicking off in grand style.
The 10-day event will start late afternoon at the Khalifa Stadium, but the opening ceremony will be held late evening at the Corniche with the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani expected to attend the event. The opening will precede the women’s marathon, which is scheduled for 23:59 hrs start at the Corniche on Friday. The Corniche Road will be closed to public from 6pm to 5 am on Thursday and Friday.
This is the first time the marathons will run at such a time, finishing in the early hours of the morning. At midnight on day one, a field of about 70 runners will set off under floodlighting on a looped course along the waterfront of Corniche, connecting against the towering skyline.
The great occasion is expected to draw a large number of people to Corniche, where large screens will also be put up for the fans to witness the opening ceremony and the midnight marathon from various vantage points.
Perhaps, it is also for this reason that the International Athletics Associations Federation (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe said, “The Championships will hopefully be spectacular and excite many more young people, particularly in Qatar to become athletes.”
Given Qatar’s event hosting capabilities and especially sports, the Doha Worlds will be a treat for the local and international fans, and the global television audience.
Also for the first time, a world athletics championship will be held at an air-cooled stadium. The Khalifa International Stadium at Aspire Zone, is also one of the most advanced stadiums in terms of lighting and digital technology besides having an environmentally friendly cooling system.
A lot of fans including a young Ghanim al Sulaiti are eager to witness the spectacular event. “I have never been to Khalifa stadium, but I am eager for the experience. The stadium has an impressive technology. It is a great entertaining event and it shows how Qatar is involved in sports and is more than capable of hosting such big sport events,” he said.
“The success of these sport events is a proof that the 2022 FIFA World Cup will also be an outstanding one and beyond expectations. Frankly, I am not very aware of the preparations for the IAAF Championships, but I am planning on attending the marathons,” he added.
The entire stretch of Corniche from Sheraton roundabout to Corniche Grand Hamad Street will be closed for traffic along with some arterial road on September 26 and 27.
Another enthusiastic fan awaiting the marathon, Mohammad al Marri echoed the same sentiment. “It is not every day you witness a midnight marathon, I am definitely attending. It should be fun to watch athletes from around the world competing.”
Meanwhile, over 3,000 volunteers are dedicatedly working to ensure a successful championship. There are around 2000 athletes from 213 different countries are participating in the competitions with a high number of spectators expected on all of the ten days of the event.
Al Marri said: “Many of my family members and friends are attending; it is a pride to witness these big international events taking place in Doha.”
All eyes are on the Qatari high jump champion Mutaz Barshim, who will be defending his world title at home and in front of all his dedicated fans.
Sara al Adba is one of the fans who is ready to cheer for him and all Qatari athletes at the upcoming event. “I am very excited and cannot wait to go watch the IAAF World Championships. I have never been to Khalifa International Stadium. I have already bought my ticket and I will be going with my friends, I will cheer for all the Qatari athletes and I am very hopeful of a Qatari win,” she exclaimed.
The ten-day sporting spectacular is expected to be different at all levels, “Every championship wants to look back and say it did something differently and I think Qatar will be no different,” is how Coe had put it and rightly so one would say.
