Worlds not a desert mirage in the end
A SUCCESSFUL world championships had looked like a desert mirage but the event eventually came to life with an oasis of thrills and packed houses to rescue Qatari organizers and officials before the curtain came down on Sunday.
Struggling due to a lack of interest from locals, the 10-day showcase delivered on the final weekend as criticism over an empty stadium and stifling heat of around 38 degrees Celsius was replaced by an atmosphere at last worthy of a world event.
The athletes responded with memorable performances in the air-conditioned Khalifa Stadium in Doha, with temperatures kept at 21 degrees, highlighted by local hero Mutaz Barshim on Friday soaring to victory in the men’s high jump for Qatar’s only gold.
On the same night American Dalilah Muhammad broke her own world record to win the women’s 400 meters hurdles while the big men seized the spotlight on Saturday as the shot putters gave a show hailed as the greatest ever in the event.
The United States again topped the medals table, its 14 golds almost triple the next best of Kenya on five while Jamaica and China each had three. No other nation got more than two.
“It is pretty clear to us that on athlete performance this is the best world championships we have had,” said International Association of Athletics Federations chief Sebastian Coe.
The head of the global governing body had spent a good amount of time during the opening days vigorously defending the decision to bring the championships to the Middle East.
“It is the athletes themselves who have come here better prepared for a championship that will be remembered for a long time .... maybe in a large part to the almost perfect conditions that these guys have created in the stadium.”
Before the last three sessions, a nearby super mall with its shops, ice rink and amusement park had generated more buzz than the Khalifa Stadium with its swathes of empty seats.
The warning signs came early when the blue riband 100 meters on the opening weekend did not attract even a modest audience. American Christian Coleman’s win was greeted with a smattering of polite applause, while Jamaica’s ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce did a victory lap in a near-empty stadium with her sleepy son nestled in her arms.
Qatar has shown huge interest in hosting the world’s biggest sporting parties, including the 2022 soccer World Cup finals, but has displayed little desire to actually attend them.
Track and field’s focus now turns to next year’s Tokyo Olympics before the 2021 worlds in Eugene, Oregon.
(Reuters)