Saad Al Suwaidi
Sheikha Asma Al-Thani, Marketing and Communications Director at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 LOC, gave us an exclusive interview where she shared her thoughts on the impact and importance of Qatar hosting the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
"This Championship is open to everyone; everyone is welcome to Doha. Everyone is welcome to come and experience the beautiful cultural side of Doha, but also the fanzone and stadium in Doha" - Sheikha Asma Al-Thani
On the sidelines of the World Championships, Former athletics world champion, Carl Lewis, and President of the AIPS, Gianni Merlo held a seminar at the Torch hotel where they discussed what it means to be an athlete and how the media plays a role in developing the sport itself.
Lewis discussed ways that Qatar are aiding the development of sports as a whole.
"I thought that (the) presentation was outstanding, I know there are challenges here… it’s clear that Qatar is working really hard to make this a sports mecca, and I think that’s great for sports. The fact that… they have the World Cup here (and) the World Championships it's going to take some time to build that support system in this country, but the point that they're putting the money and the effort into it, I think will ultimately be a great thing." Carl Lewis said
Gianni Merlo gave us an insight into what he believes the future holds for places such as Aspire, to be a prime training facility for athletes.
"The potential that Qatar has, because there are not so many Aspire(s) around the world, there is only one... I think that Qatar can have also a big future as a training area... these facilities are, especially in winter, are perfect for the training of the top athletes."