The Khalifa Stadium Tuesday, 18 Nov – Doha was chosen to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships today, becoming the first city from the Middle East to stage the blue riband event.
The Qatari capital, overlooked for the 2017 edition to be held in London, was selected ahead of rival bids from Barcelona and the American city of Eugene.
Doha triumphed at a secret ballot of the IAAF Council in Monaco, following final presentations by the three bidding cities.
The championships will take place at the Khalifa Stadium at the end of September, later than usual, to spare competitors from the worst of the searing desert heat.
Temperatures in Doha at that time of year are typically about 35 degrees Celcius during the morning and 30 degrees in the evenings, no more stifling than at previous world championship venues like Tokyo and Seville.
Long-serving IAAF president Lamine Diack said the three candidates had been the best he had seen.
"I’m sure that in Doha we will have a wonderful edition of the World Championships," he said.
"I’m convinced they are committed to sport and they are doing the right things sand it will continue like that."
Doha hosted the men-only Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in 1997 and that meeting has since been incorporated into the Diamond League. It also hosted the 2010 World Indoors Championships.
Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General and chairman of the Doha bid Sheikh Saoud Abdulrahman al-Thani praised the "fair play" in the bidding process.
"We would like to thank the IAAF for the trust they have placed in us and guarantee to deliver on our commitments," he said. "We extend our warmest appreciation to the teams from Eugene and Barcelona for their friendship, fair play and respect throughout the bidding process.
"At this time of dramatic sporting growth in Qatar, hosting Doha 2019 marks a new era in our sporting achievements."
Eugene, known as Track Town, was hoping to become the first American city to host the event which began in 1983 in Helsinki.
Portland, Oregon, will host the 2016 World Indoor Championships.
Source – RTE Athletics
