Doha: Kiwi Shot Put legend, Valerie Adams yesterday become the third athlete to announce their support for Doha’s Bid to host the 2019 IAAF World Championships.
The reigning World, World Indoor, Olympic and Commonwealth Champion believes that hosting the World Championships in Doha will connect more young females to athletics.
Adams has just finished another remarkable season becoming the Diamond Race winner for the fourth consecutive time, having already won her third World Indoor title at the beginning of the season and her third Commonwealth title over the summer.
Adams also has two Olympic titles and four World Championship titles, becoming the first woman in history to win four consecutive World Championships.
As one of the world’s most successful female athletes, Adams understands the importance of her status in being a role model for athletics and for young females across the world.
The Middle East has never hosted the IAAF World Championships before and this presents an opportunity to showcase elite athletes like Adams to the young females of the region and inspire them by what they see. Speaking about her support, Adams said: “Athletics is my life and it means everything to me. It has taught me many of life’s lessons and has made me a stronger, more confident woman. I really hope that more young females can benefit from athletics in the same way that I have. Hosting the World Championships in the Middle East for the first time ever will showcase live athletics to a new generation of young females in the region. I believe that Doha 2019 will inspire them to see that anything is possible and women’s athletics across the Middle East will continue to advance as a result.”
Female athletics in Qatar has begun to take root over recent years.
Since 2007, the Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) has been running a youth participation initiative in collaboration with the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence.
This has both served to connect thousands of young girls to athletics for the first time and to identify talented young athletes who have gone on to join the QAF’s national squad development programme. These efforts are already producing success at competition level, with Qatar one of the leading performers at GCC competitions, as well as producing strong results at both the Arab and West Asian level.
The pinnacle achievement so far was the participation of Noor Al Malki at the London 2012 Olympics. The Peninsula
