Qatar World Athletics countdown begins as fears surface
‘All the big pieces are in place’
US golfer Jordan Spieth addresses a press conference ahead of the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National Course at Saint-Quentin-enYvelines, south-west of Paris on
Sept 26. (AFP)
teammates were at the Tour Championship, a US PGA playoff event he just missed after a poor showing at the BMW Championship.
“I took Tour Championship week to slowly progress each day, do a little bit more, and I was progressing nicely,” Spieth said. “My game was in the best state that it had been in until BMW and I kind of just ran out of gas there. But I was able to get that rest.”
Spieth will have an early chance to do so, with plans to play in some fall events the next two months.
DOHA, Sept 26, (AFP): In the controversy surrounding Qatar’s 2022 football World Cup, it’s almost forgotten that in exactly one year Doha will host its biggest sporting event to date, the World Athletics Championships.
On Sept 27, 2019 the planet’s best athletes will congregate in Qatar’s capital for 10 days for the premier track and field competition of the season.
It will be the first time the event is held in the Middle East.
For the athletes it represents a golden chance of glory; for Qatar the championships are an opportunity to directly address its many critics to show it deserves to host global sporting events.
“All the big pieces are in place”, International Association of Athletics Federation vice-president – and
“I love where Jordan is actually right now,” US captain Jim Furyk said. “He brings so much to the team room as a leader. For his age, he’s very mature, and all those guys kind of his age group, when Jordan speaks, everyone seems to listen.
“Having a week off, having some fresh legs, a fresh mind, he’s probably champing at the bit right now. He’s probably ready to go this week and I think it would be a real good week for him.”
Spieth called his 2014 tee shot at
Qatari – Dahlan Al Hamad assured reporters this week.
Qatar will hold a one-year-to-go event at the championships venue, the expensively refurbished and air-conditioned Khalifa International Stadium, on Thursday
However, the omens are not good.
Before a spike has touched the track, Qatar has been widely criticised for having the event shifted to late September and early October because of concerns over the desert state’s weather.
All previous nine world championships held this century begun in August.
Temperatures in Doha this week still reached highs of 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit).
Accordingly, organisers have announced the marathons will be held
Gleneagles “probably the most nervewracking tee shot I’ve ever hit” and expects another tough one this week with 7,000 fans at the first tee.
“We’ll hear the Europe chants and the Ole! Ole! Ole! chants on the driving range whenever we’re teeing off an hour ahead of time,” Spieth said. “And this tee shot’s as difficult a first tee shot as we’ve probably played the entire season. That adds to it.”
He’ll need accuracy as well as his
at midnight and traditional morning sessions scrapped.
The earliest events are scheduled to start is 4:15 pm local time.
Human rights concerns have again surfaced.
Roundly criticised for its labour practices since winning the right to host the World Cup in 2010 – Amnesty International published its latest damning report this week – Qatar will not escape similar condemnation in the run up to the athletics.
Khalifa is also a venue for the football World Cup and it is where British worker Zac Cox fell 39 metres (128 feet) to his death while working on the stadium in January 2017.
A subsequent inquest said conditions at the stadium during construction work were “downright dangerous”.
trademark distance to be sure.
“Tee balls are key here,” Spieth said. “If you miss the fairway, you’re likely not going to be able to hold the green, and with a lot of greens surrounded by water, you’re actually having to really kind of almost lay up out of the rough.”
Spieth expects some par celebrations this week instead of birdie binges that were enjoyed in the US 2014 win at Hazeltine.
“I don’t think there will be as many
Politics is also set to feature, with the potential threat of a boycott.
Since June 2017, Qatar has been isolated by a group of former allied neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who cut all ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting Iran and extremist groups.
Fifteen months on, the crisis is as entrenched as ever.
Qatar refutes all allegations, but the World Athletics Championships will be a significant global sporting and political test for the crisis and those involved.
Last year, Qatar was due to hold the football Gulf Cup but this was switched to Kuwait – the mediator in the crisis – after it was clear the boycotting countries would not attend.
roars. There were a lot of putts made at Hazeltine from six to 30 feet. You just won’t see that many birdie opportunities because if you miss the fairway, you’re fighting for par.”
Meanwhile, American captain Jim Furyk has poured cold water on the idea that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson could play together in the Ryder Cup this week after the two players got tongues wagging on Tuesday by suggesting it could happen.