(ATR) The Road to Rio for track and field Olympians begins in earnest on May 6 in Doha, Qatar.
For the seventh straight year, the IAAF Diamond League kicks off in the Middle East. The beginning of the outdoor season comes almost exactly three months from the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics.
Though many medal contenders are skipping the event as they prepare for the Olympics in August, there are still 38 champions and 80 medalists from past Olympic Games and world indoor and outdoor championships on hand in Doha.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe spent much of his time at a pre-event press conferencetalking about targeting a younger audience to keep the sport of track and field relevant for the future. Coe touted the IAAF’s efforts at growing its social media presence. But he says changing the way the sport’s events are presented is also a necessity.
At the top of the list is finding a way to speed up one-day events to attract new fans while at the same time making sure the changes do not alienate those who like the sport the way it is.
"We do have to make these changes," Coe said, "They’re not a "nice to have" they are actually essential for our survival and I think there is a recognition and an appetite for change, particularly amongst the athletes."
Defending Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor supports the call for innovation and experimentation.
"If we could bring fireworks in after every jump, that would be great," Taylor said.
"You have to bring eyes to the stage. You have to grab people’s attention."
The athletes are top of mind for Coe when it comes to the ongoing battles with doping in his sport. While he did not explicitly reference the recent widespread doping scandal that has engulfed Russian athletics, he did say "We are emerging from a very, very difficult period in the history of our sport.
"The most important client group that we need to regain the trust of is the clean athletes. The public are important, the media are important, our sponsors are important. But actually these are the people I wake up each day trying to create systems that are safe and secure and allow them to know that when they’re lining up on the track, they’re lining up against athletes that are clean."
Doha is the first of 10 Diamond League events to be held before the Rio Games. The final four events of the season will come after the Olympics.
Written by Gerard Farek
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