USA Teams’ chief impressed with Doha facilities

Aretha Thurmond has “snuck” into Doha a couple of times in the past.“In my competitive days, I was here at the Doha Diamond League competition,” the former Team USA discus thrower said at the press conference to mark the one-year countdown for the Doha 2019 World Athletics Championships yesterday.“Very impressed with how the city has grown.”Just as the Qatari capital has undergone a transformation, so has Thurmond’s role in the sport.From the times when she twice topped the Pan American Games, Thurmond has since moved behind the scenes to become Managing Director of International & Championship Teams at USA Track & Field (USATF).Thurmond was in Qatar for a Team Leader site visit ahead of next year’s championship, which will run from September 27 to October 6 next year at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium, and despite all the cacophony around weather conditions, scheduling, etc. only has positives to point out.“For us in the US, heat is nothing new, it is not for us to be afraid of,” said Thurmond, whose best finish in Qatar was a second place in the 2004 edition of the Athletic Super Grand Prix.“Believe it or not, in Athens 2004 we got two marathon medals and it was a very hot Olympic Games. It was close to a 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees). So it is just about the preparation and education. It is making sure that the athletes are ready to perform whatever the conditions are, wherever the championships are going.”Thurmond said the idea behind her visit was to collect as much information as possible to enable athletes and coaches to prepare for the World Championships.The state-of-the-art Khalifa International Stadium was being controlled down to 24-26 degrees Celsius for the media to experience and see for themselves even as the temperature outside was higher.“Our athletes just want us to come and gather as much information as possible and bring it back to them. Our athletes are down to the little details. What’s the stadium going to be like? What’s the surface like? What are the training venues? Where are we going to stay? Are you going to have nice accommodations for us, which they know we will. And of course they have fantastic accommodations here. I think the athletes are more concerned about the little things, than the big things,” the 42-year-old said.“We have had several athletes over the years who have come here, and have loved the meet as well,” she said, referring to Doha Diamond League. “I mean again the hospitality here, the treatment our athletes get here, make it a very unforgettable place.”Asked about her experience at the Doha meet when she used compete, she said, “I used to train in Auburn, Alabama, which is warm, humid. (I am) The girl from the South. So when I came here, it was fine.”The 2019 edition of the World Championships will have many firsts, including night marathons and a technologically advanced climate-controlled venue in Khalifa International Stadium.“I think the IAAF and LOC (Local Organising Committee) have put in a lot of plans in place to obviously make sure that the athletes are safe and make sure they can perform under optimal conditions,” Thurmond said.“To me it’s exciting. For them to take the marathon and put it in optimal conditions and do something you need and do a midnight marathon; we have checked on the road course. I think the Corniche is gorgeous, it is a great pavement. I know our athletes will be excited to run on such a nice course, flat course; it should be a fast course, they always appreciate.”Even as Thurmond gave her vote of confidence amidst questions about moving the event to a September-October slot as compared to the more traditional August slot, Dahlan al-Hamad, vice-president and director general of the LOC, and vice-president of the International Association of the Athletics Federations (IAAF), too was confident.“When you are an organiser, you will always have others who have a different opinion,” al-Hamad said yesterday.“But you have to be reasonable and be open to them when you are answering these questions. The reason we had this press conference in the stadium is to prove to the people about what is going on.”“The media plays a big role in this, and that’s why we wanted you to feel it. We are not going to give you textual information, but would rather have you feel it. We are ready to answer anything. Our objective is to make this edition a successful and an exceptional one. And to leave a legacy for Qatar and athletics (at large).”