Athletics Africa Magazine

Six global champions were in City Center Doha this evening for the opening ceremony of the IAAF Heritage World Athletics Championships Exhibition. The exhibition, the largest ever of its kind, celebrates the history of the IAAF World Athletics Championships whose first edition took place in Helsinki, Finland, 36 years ago, and which remain today the third most important sporting event on the planet. The evening was hosted by IAAF President Sebastian Coe and Dahlan Al Hamad , IAAF Vice President and Director General of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 Local Organising Committee. The exhibition, which occupies 400m2 of space in the largest shopping mall in Qatar will be open daily to the public for six months, closing on Monday 7 October. During this time the Asian Athletics Championships, Doha Diamond League and IAAF World Athletics Championships will be hosted by Doha, drawing thousands of athletes, official, media and fans to Qatar. Stand back in awe...

Double African champion, Marie-Josee Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast, triple European champion Dina Asher-Smith, and reigning world and European champion Ramil Guliyev will launch their outdoor seasons over 200m in the Doha Diamond League - the first stage of the IAAF Diamond League - on 3 May. Marie-Josee Ta Lou was in especially prolific form over 100m in 2018, claiming the 100m and 200m titles at the African championships in Asaba, and winning 10 of her 11 races on the IAAF Diamond League circuit, including the Doha Diamond League in 10.85. Ta Lou is one of the most complete sprinters on the circuit having won silver medals in both the 100m and 200m at the IAAF World Championships in London in 2017. She also raced extensively over 60m during the indoor season, setting a world-leading time of 7.02 in Dusseldorf. Ta Lou’s principal rival will be Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain, who conquered the European stage last year, winning gold medals in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100...

Khalifa International Stadium in Doha / Photo credit: Doha DL The men’s shot put was one of the highest quality events across the athletics programme last season and six of the seven throwers who surpassed the 22-metre line will be competing in the Doha Diamond League - the first stage of the IAAF Diamond League 2019 - on 3 May. The event came to a climax in the Zurich Diamond League where reigning world indoor and outdoor champion Tom Walsh from New Zealand reached out to a second-round effort of 22.60m to eclipse the Diamond League record by four centimetres. “Breaking the Diamond League record in Zurich to win the Diamond League title was one of the highlights of my season. Of course, I have very high expectations this year as well and I have been pleased with my performances so far in 2019,” said Walsh. Walsh holds the world outdoor lead with 21.91m from the Australian Championships where he participated as a guest but the calibre of the field is such that a throw in e...