(ATR) Olympic and world champions compete for cash and bragging rights in Doha as they launch the 2017 season for the IAAF Diamond League.
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One of the biggest crowds ever for the Doha Diamond League nearly filled the 15,000 seat Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium at the Qatar Sports Club. For eight years now the starting pistol for the IAAF Diamond League series has been Doha, first week of May.
The Friday night meeting began at 6, just as the sun set and temperatures started dropping from afternoon highs in the range of 40c.
The athletes come from two dozen nations, peppered with 15 Olympic medalists and world champions.
Kim Collins of St. Kitts, Justin Gay of the U.S., Jamaica’s Asafa Powell and Canada’s Andre De Grasse are headliners for the men’s 100m. Qatari brothers Femi and Tosin Ogunode are also in the eight-man field.
The women’s shotput includes Rio gold medalist Michelle Carter of the U.S. pole vault silver medalist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece and 10 other women line up for that event. In the women’s 800m there are four Olympic medalists, include Rio champion Caster Semanya of South Africa.
"Diamond League is a great event for us. It’s our second largest shop window for one-day events. It’s our biggest property next to the world championships," IAAF CEO Olivier Gers tells Around the Rings in Doha.
"This year it is exciting, innovative. We’re changing the format to make it more of a race to the finals," he says.
The prize purse carries $8 million for the 12 meeting season that ends in Brussels Sept. 1. Winners across the 32 disciplines in the Diamond League will each receive $50,000. And a trophy with an oversize Swaraovski glass diamond.
Gers, who is covering his first Diamond League since coming aboard the IAAF six months ago, says the Qatari hosts are doing a good job and have built up valuable experience. He says that organizers of this event are the same ones plotting the course towards the 2019 IAAF World Championships.
That includes Dr. Thani Abdelrahman Al Kuwari, who has just taken over leadership of the Qatar Athletics Federation from Major General Dahlan al Hamad, who remains IAAF vice president. Al Kuwari is also secretary general of the Qatar NOC.
Written and reported in Doha by Ed Hula.
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