Athletics Unites Us Intro
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ATHLETICS UNITES US INTRO The last year have been among the most enjoyable my belief that athletics can only ever be as strong My pledge is to be a wholly committed full-time and enriching of my life in athletics. as its National Federations and that the key role President working in constant collaboration with of the IAAF is to provide the service, support the National Federations which are the heartbeat The reason is simple. As I have travelled the world and resource they need to operate effectively to of our sport. I have a clear vision for the future of I have met so many wonderful people, made new promote and manage our sport in their countries our sport in which athletics re-engages with young friends and caught up with old ones. and produce the next generation of world-class people and becomes an even more powerful and So many of you gave your time and shared your athletes. attractive global sport. It is a future in which a expertise and insight to help me formulate my new generation of stars enthralls spectators in It also reminded me that no two countries are programe for the Presidency of the IAAF and I am packed stadiums and millions more around the alike. Each has different concerns and different truly grateful to each and every one of you. world on televison and which attracts the world’s needs and requires different things from the IAAF. biggest and best companies as sponsors. This album is a personal mark of my appreciation. That’s why I am committed to creating individual It is a photographic record of my journeys and of development plans for National Federations My motivation for becoming IAAF President is to many of the memorable moments I have shared among other initiatives to help the amazing make that vision a reality but I am very aware with National Federations’ officials, athletes, people in athletics around the world. that we will only acheive that by working together volunteers and the other members of the as every successful family does. This is a crucial time for athletics and the next worldwide family which is the underlying strength President has a big job to do. But the fact is that it So let’s work together to take athletics to new of athletics. cannot be done from the top down; the future of heights. During a schedule which has taken me from Cali athletics is in all of our hands and not just those to Kuala Lumpur and to many places in between, of the President. my meetings and discussions have strengthened • November 2014. Singapore • August 2014. Nanjing, China • April 2015. Jakarta, Indonesia • March 2015. Taipei • May 2015. Doha, Qatar • June 2015. Nepal ASIA • June 2015. Wuhan, China August 2014. Nanjing, China II SUMMER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES Asia is growing fast in many areas – including sport. Nanjing 2014 organized a marvelous Youth Olympics with world class stars like Liu Xiang promoting athletics and a strong education program which is so important for the young athletes. For me education is one of the key pillars of my ‘Take Athletics to the New Heights’ program. It is a cornerstone of growth and excellence in sport. So many new wonderful technologies are at our disposal to deliver knowledge to young athletes. We must teach them throughout their careers using traditional education and specialized programs including online courses. Education of the athletes’ entourage is crucial as well. If elected I pledge to create scholarships for NF representatives and entourage, ensuring further internships within the IAAF, Area Associations and NFs. April 2015. March 2015. Jakarta, Indonesia Taipei 80TH ASIAN ATHLETICS NEW TAIPEI CITY WAN ASSOCIATION COUNCIL JIN SHI MARATHON MEETING Let me share what I’ve seen at the Amazing New Taipei City marathon AAA Council meeting in Indonesian and the whole atmosphere around capital. the event. Running is the easiest way for youth to come up with I have seen the future of our sport. athletics. I have seen full commitment of the National Federations to the I am happy to have many friends idea of the development of sport, and colleagues within National of youth involvement, of building Federations who are committed new training and competition to help road running grow in their facilities. Asia is diverse but my countries. dear colleague Dahlan Al Khamad manages this diversity well. Every city and town should host What we must follow if the idea marathons or any other road of individual approach to every running events at least once a year. federation’s needs. The IAAF must I pledge to give full every possible regard the Member federations as support to road running if elected the core of our sport. as IAAF President. June 2015. Nepal AFTER THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE True drama for the small country. I have seen horrifying devastations, destroyed homes and infrastructure. I’ve seen that people live at the Dasarath Stadium – in tents right on the pitch, because they do not have a place to live. But I have also seen courage in the eyes of those people – local athletes, coaches and officials. They are ready to continue to practice sport, to train, to compete and to win. The IAAF and the Athletics family must without any doubt help the athletes from Nepal. If elected as IAAF President I pledge to do everything I can to find possibilities and construct new athletics facility in Kamandu. November 2014 May, 2015. Doha, Qatar SINGAPORE DIAMOND LEAGUE MEETING I have special feelings about Singapore because I was a Chair of IOC Coordination Commission for the first Youth Olympics here in 2010 – one of the most optimistic and exciting events I’ve ever experienced. The reason of the visit to Singapore in November 2014 was to take part in a South East Asian sports summit. There was great gathering with very effective discussion. We talked about the idea to join efforts and develop specific sports’ disciplines in specific countries. These first meets of the season It means that jumping prospects from are always special. The tradition every country in the region will have to start the DL series at Qatar SC their training facilities, for example, in Stadium in Doha is amazing as Malaysia, while the best middle and the organization is always perfect long distance runners would be sent and the level of performance is to, for instance, Singapore. I like the always very high. In May 2015 we idea – it could help the development of witnessed 11 World Leads! sport and establish closer cooperation between nations. Doha is becoming one of the world’s I became even more optimistic about capitals of sport. The city will be the future of athletics in the region the world’s capital of athletics in when I attended athletics competitions 2019, but in 2015 the famous at the Singapore National Games. stadium hosted inaugural Asian Those athletes do not aim to become Youth Athletics championships. world champions – but they are no Thanks Doha and Qatar for the less passionate than sport’s super continuous efforts to develop the stars! Also thanks to the organizers for sport of athletics. The efforts which the opportunity to do some training must certainly be supported by the between the meetings! IAAF. June 2015. Wuhan, China THE XXI ASIAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS Since 2007 every second IAAF World Championship has been hosted by Asia. The continent develops rapidly in terms of both athletics performance, coaching, infrastructure, and legacy. The Asian Championships in Wuhan, as well as one-day meets, including Diamond League meets, reveal significant growth of Asian athletes’ performance. The legacy of hosting lots of world class events gives clear results. Wuhan 2015 was true success, as well as the athletics competitions at the 2014 Asian Games at the Incheon, Korea, demonstrating huge potential in athletics. Asia obviously deserves to host more IAAF events and the continent’s National Federations can receive support from the athletics world governing body, including both financial support and exchange of knowledge and coaching technologies with world best experts. June 2015. April 2015. Wuhan, China Beijing, China THE XXI ASIAN ATHLETICS IAAF COUNCIL CHAMPIONSHIPS Beijing meeting was truly inspiring! Despite busy schedule the expectation of the great athletics celebration in August 2015 were amazing. I would like to thank the LOC of Beijing 2015 even before the event has started – I know what a great job has been done in the recent years to prepare for the IAAF World Championships. • August and September 2014. Marrakech, Morocco • March 2015. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • April 2015. Mauritius AFRICA • October 2015. Algeria August and September 2014. December 2014. Marrakech, Morocco Cairo, Egypt AFRICAN ATHLETICS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY CHAMPIONSHIPS & IAAF SEMINAR AT IAAF REGIONAL CONTINENTAL CUP DEVELOPMENT CENTER The beautiful ‘Red City’ of Marrakech is one of the athletics capitals of Africa. In 2014 it hosted the continent’s two biggest athletics events – the African Championships with CAA Congress and IAAF Continental Cup. Both were great moments for me. Athletes performed at a very high level both in August and September while I’ve got opportunities to meet my friends and colleagues from the Athletics family, to share my thoughts and discuss the future of The IAAF Regional Development the sport. Center is the best place to meet with colleagues to talk about the The athletics traditions and future of our sport. Both RDCs expertise of Marrakech prove that and High Performance Training Africa’s potential for athletics Centers are fundamental for the is huge both in terms of sport development and exchange of organization and hosting the knowledge and experience between events.