Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011 marks D-100
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
DAEGU — With the 2011 World Athletics Championships 100 days away, the South Korean host city of Daegu is ready to welcome the big names of track and field for one of the biggest sports event in the world, according to organizers.
The championships, held biennially by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), will take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4. This is South Korea’s first time to host the event and the third time it’s being held in Asia, following Tokyo in 1991 and Osaka in 2007. The organizing committee expects the event will draw about 4,000 athletes and officials from 212 countries, with 47 events (24 for men, 23 for women), and a predicted television audience of 6.5 billion over the entire event.
“This will be an event in which all citizens will be able to enjoy,” Cho Hae-nyoung, co-president of the organizing committee, said.
“I believe everything is ready for the event, especially the facilities,” he said in a recent interview.
He said the committee and the local athletes have made efforts to impress the largest-scale championships ever.
Daegu Stadium, the main venue for the event, has installed a “Mondo” track to improve the athletes’ times. The track manufactured by Italy’s flooring company. Mondo is known for a more consistent bounce and traction compared to other surfaces, and was certified as Class 1 by the IAAF last month. Men’s 100-meter record holder Usain Bolt set three world records on this surface, including the one at the 2008 Olympics.
The committee also improved the lighting, scoreboard and sound systems at the venue.
The championship has extra significance this season because it is the biggest test for international athletes ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.
Bolt, the reigning world and Olympic champion is the gold medal favorite in the men’s 100- and 200-meters. He beat his own world record in the 100-meters with a time of 9.58 seconds at the last championships in Berlin two years ago.
The Jamaican sprinter is gearing up to win a consecutive title at Daegu and set another world record after suffering an Achilles tendon injury that cost him victory against Tyson Gay of the United States for the first time last year.
The American runner wants to repeat that performance to reclaim the world championship he last won in 2007.
Asafa Powell of Jamaica is another big name in the race. He and Bolt will also team up in hopes of bringing their country the 400-meter relay title for the second time in a row.
Former Olympic gold medalist sprinter Liu Xiang of China and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba will compete in the 110-meter hurdles.
Female pole vaulted Yelena Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion, hopes to take a third title at Daegu and, in doing so, wipe out the memory of a poor performance at Berlin where she failed to achieve a successful vault.
Among the world stars, South Korean athletes have set their sights on advancing to the final rounds to make their presence felt on home turf and on the world stage. In its history at the world championships, South Korea is the only host country that has never won a medal.
The organizing committee plans to hold a relay marathon in the city today at 2 p.m., in which the participants will rally with 212 national flags of the participating IAAF members to show the city’s passion. A music festival will take place following the event.
“The committee came up with the so-called “10-10” plan in 2009, which targets at least one athlete to reach the final of each of the 10 events in which domestic athletes are considered competitive,” Kim Choong-hwan, a committee official, said Tuesday.
Those events are the marathon, long jump, pole vault for both the men’s and women’s, coupled with men’s 20- and 50-kilometer walking, triple jump, and javelin.
The plan is likely to be adjusted as South Korean track and field athletes are on a roll since they did well at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, winning four gold medals. Asiad women’s 100-meter hurdles champion Lee Yeon-kyung is one competitor looking to shine, according to Kim.
Among the “10-10” prospects, men’s triple jumper Kim Deok-hyeon spearheads the campaign after winning his event at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting, a test competition held in Daegu last week ahead of the championships.