In his letter addressed to HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of Qatar Olympic Committee, Mr. Diack described the 2010 WIC version as an exceptional athletics event, he also congratulated Qatar on its high professionalism and vision in organizing the IAAF 2010.

The letter read:

After my return from Doha, I have joined Lisbon for the discussion on the 20th edition of the Half Marathon which was attended by the Portuguese Prime Minister. By my arrival yesterday to Monaco, I would like to express the satisfaction and pride for the inspiring skills, availability and sense of innovation that you have inspired your team with to be able to achieve a brilliant successful World Indoor championship of Athletics.

Thank you on behalf of the entire world Athletics family. Each individual is privileged to have been involved at this Qatari version of the event. On behalf of all, I would like to wish you great success in all the activities that Qatar will conduct. Until we meet again in May for the launching of the Doha Premiere Diamond league.

With my sincerest friendship and continuous support.

I wanted to express my sincere thanks and congratulations to you for the excellent Media Services provided by your department at the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships held in Doha on 12-14 March 2010.
 

I must also admit that it was very challenging job for you and your Team to deliver this successful result, acknowledging that you have been appointed to run the Media & Broadcast Operations only 5-6 months before the event.

In any case the level of Media Services at this event was outstanding, on a par with that of the IOC Olympic Games and the IAAF World Outdoor Championships and even higher than the very successful organization of the OCA Asian Games which Doha hosted in 2006 and I have a personal experience.
 

Of course the excellent facilities at the Aspire Dome played an important role, but the services provided by your Staff were also of a very high standard. This together with their friendliness and helpfulness were instrumental in the very positive evaluation we received from the world media covering the event.
 

The comments gathered from many journalists, photographers and officials after the conclusion of the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships were that this was the best edition ever.
 

I hope we will be able to work together again on future IAAF events and renew my sincere thanks to you and your Team, which was composed by highly experienced and very professional Senior Staff who was always capable to handle efficient any critical situation.

It was a real pleasure to work with you.

The ceremony was held at the Al Sharq hotel in attendance of Lamine Diack, IAAF Chief, HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, QOC Secretary General, top IAAF and LOC officials, participating athletes delegates and other guests.

During the ceremony, the WIC flag was handed over by Lamine Diack to the next host nation representative, Mohmmad Tarzi, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 14th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships to be staged in Turkey.

Later, IAAF Chief presented a medal of excellence and appreciation to HE Sheikh Saoud for the successful organising of the event.

The ceremony was held at the Al Sharq hotel was attended by Lamine Diack, IAAF Chief, HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, QOC Secretary General, top IAAF and LOC officials, participating athletes delegates and other guests.

During the ceremony, the WIC flag was handed over by Lamine Diack to the next host nation representative, Mohmmad Tarzi, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 14th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships to be staged in Turkey.

“Qatar has one of the world’s best sport infrastructures and the experience of hosting major events in the state,” said Al Hamad on the eve of the closing ceremony of the event.

Al Hamad added, “The success of the IAAF Indoor Championships reflects Qatar’s organisations abilities and the ambition of becoming the sports hub in the region.”

Tamgho held second position at 17.41m from the very first round of competition in the Aspire Dome, but it was Yoandris Betanzos of Cuba who delivered the early leading mark. Moving out to a world-leading 17.69m in the first round, Betanzos dominated the competition well into the sixth round, even though Tamgho improved to 17.50m in the fifth round.

Tamgho and Betanzos were thus the only jumpers remaining, with the bronze medal (which went to Betanzos’ team-mate Arnie Girat, who moved into third on the fifth round with a 17.36m hop) determined.

Tamgho wasted no time and arrived at the board with tremendous speed. It was clear from his second step off the board that the mark would be very long, and it looked possible that he had even bested the WR marker placed next to the pit. Indeed he had; when the measurement was announced, it was 17.90m, 7cm beyond the WR of 17.83m shared by Aliecer Urrutia (Sindelfingen, 1997) and Christian Olsson (whose mark came at the 2004 World Championships in Budapest).

Tamgho knew it was long, and was already halfway around the track with the hope of gold. Betanzos had a tall act to follow, and in the end could not improve on his first mark. He would settle for silver. (Olsson, as it happened, was fourth with a first-round 17.23m leap.)

Commanding title defence by Kaki

If Saturday was the day of the defender, Sunday was much less kind to defending champions. The only individual champion from Valencia who retained a title Sunday was Sudan’s Abubaker Kaki, who reprised his impressive wire-to-wire race by sprinting to the front of the men’s 800m and simply holding off all challengers to win in 1:46.23. Kaki’s pace was sufficiently ferocious that once Kenya’s Boaz Lalang and Adam Kszczot of Poland fell in behind, the leading order did not change for the rest of the race – Lalang took silver and Kszczot bronze even in the face of a furious rush from Kaki’s team-mate Ismail Ahmed Ismail.

Terrence Trammell lost the title to Dayron Robles in one of the fastest 60m Hurdles races ever seen indoors. Robles overhauled Trammell only at the finish line, clocking 7.34 to set a new Championship record and establish the third-fastest mark ever. Trammell, timed in 7.36, equalled the American record set by Allen Johnson and joined a three-way tie for third-fastest hurdler ever. David Oliver, third in 7.44, picked up a PB; Liu Xiang was seventh in 7.65.

First golden jump for Murer

Also among the less successful defenders was Yelena Isinbayeva. After her catastrophic no-height in Berlin and a scare in qualifying, Isinbayeva played it safe in Doha and entered the competition at 4.60m. She then passed to 4.75m, which is where the trouble began; when she failed to clear there, the World record holder fell to fourth behind Anna Rogowska of Poland, the outdoor champion, whose last clearance had been 4.70m. It was then down to Fabiana Murer of Brazil and former World champion Svetlana Feofanova of Russia; Murer cleared 4.80m on her first attempt and Feofanova on her second, so when both went out at 4.85m the gold went to Murer, silver to Feofanova.

Yaroslav Rybakov suffered a similar fate in the High Jump, though when he failed to clear 2.33m he at least had the comfort of taking silver ahead of Dusty Jonas. Ivan Ukhov, who cleared 2.33m on his first attempt, did the same at 2.36m and made two tries at a world-leading 2.41m before calling it a night and celebrating his first World title.

New PB gives one more title to Campbell-Brown

Veronica Campbell-Brown delivered the women’s 60m title to Jamaica, rolling up the early lead of Laverne Jones-Ferrette and running a PB 7.00 in that final. Jones-Ferrette took silver with 7.03 and Carmelita Jeter settled for bronze in 7.05.

Nadezya Ostapchuk launched a stunning last-round 20.85m toss in the Shot Put to recover the lead in that event and end Valerie Vili’s nearly-three-year winning streak. Vili’s 20.49m fifth-round effort gave her silver, with Natalia Mikhnevich taking bronze with a first-round 20.42m. Also on the infield, Berlin World champion Brittney Reese long-jumped 6.70m in the first round to take gold in that event, with defending champion Naide Gomes second with a 6.67m mark.

Yougest woman and oldest man

Defending champion Gelete Burka found herself upstaged by her younger compatriot Kalkidan Gezahegne in the women’s 1500m. When Burka sprinted for home at the bell, Gezahegne was on her shoulder, and when Gezahegne pulled clear on the homestretch, Natalia Rodriguez, the Spaniard judged responsible for Burka’s race-ending fall at the Berlin World Championships, also stole by to seize silver and leave Burka only bronze. Gezahegne is the youngest woman ever to win a World Indoor championship.

In the very next race, Bernard Lagat became the oldest man ever to win a World Indoor championship when he ended the title defence of Tariku Bekele in the men’s 3000m. In a race which saw a lot of early position-changing as the contenders tried to find and defend just the right places for their late-race charges, Lagat turned out to find the best spot, which was on Bekele’s shoulder as the Ethiopian cranked the pace faster and faster. With a bit more than a lap to go, Lagat moved out and around the tiring Bekele and glided away as though he had only just begun to race. Spain’s Sergio Sanchez and Kenya’s Sammy Mutahi caught Bekele in the homestretch to seize silver and bronze. Lagat added this gold medal to the one he won in this event in 2004, when he was a mere 29 years old.

USA dominate relays

On the track, the only other successful defence came from the USA men’s 4×400m team, which ran the fastest time that event had seen since the 2006 championships in Moscow. The USA team’s lead in the final laps was so commanding they ran nearly unnoticed over the closing leg, with all attention in the Aspire Dome focused on the battle between Great Britain, Belgium, and the Dominican Republic for silver and gold. Belgium took that silver with Great Britain close behind.

The women’s 800m went to Russia’s Mariya Savinova, who headed Jennifer Meadows only in the final strides to establish a new world-leading time of 1:58.26. Meadows, at 1:58.43, lowered the national record she set earlier this season; Alysia Johnson, the early leader, took bronze. Pre-race favourite Anna Pierce moved up to fourth at the end, and in fifth Egle Balciunaite set a Lithuanian national record of 2:01.37.

In the women’s 4×400m, another defending champion was dethroned as the foursome from the USA, led by 400m champion Debbie Dunn and anchored by outdoor 200m champion Allyson Felix, held off the defending Russians, anchored by 400m silver-medallist Tatyana Firova. It was the first time the Russians had been defeated in this event since 1993, and the first time the USA had won it. Jamaica, who were the last team to win before the Russian’s eight-championship streak began, set a national record of 3:28.49 in third.

Diack was happy with the overall success of the prestigious event and conveyed his thanks and appreciations to the Organising Committee for their achievement.

IAAF Chief also praised the attendance of spectators who came to witness and cheer their favourite athletes during the three-day championship which concluded Sunday.

Best marks for places for 3rd, 6th and 7th at a WIC.
        Before
3rd  7:39.90  Sammy Mutahi  7:39.96  Alberto Garcia  1997
6th  7:42.82  Jesus Espana  7:44.31  John Mayock  1997
7th        7:44.15  Hicham Bellani      7:44.83  Leonard Mucheru  2003.

Men’s 60m hurdles final

New Best marks for places for 1st and 2nd at a WIC
       Before
1st  7.34 by Robles   7.36 by A Johnson in 2004
2nd       7.36 by Trammell      7.40 by Reggie Torian in 1999

Men’s 4×400m relay

The winning margin of 3.64 seconds is the largest ever at a WIC
The previous record was 3.18 by US in 1997.

Men’s Triple Jump

New best marks for places for 1st and 2nd
      Before
1st  17.90m  17.83  Olsson 2004
2nd       17.69m            17.62   Quesada 1995
Women’s 60m final

With 7.05, Carmelita Jeter is now the fastest bronze medalist in a women’s 60m in the history of WIC. The previously best 3rd place time was 7.07 by Gail Devers (in a semi) and Mensah (in the final) in 1999.

Women’s 4×400m Relay final

Opening 400m split of 51.25 by Dunn is the fastest ever opening 400m at a WIC.
The previous best was 51.37 by Krasnomovets in 2004

The margin of victory of 0.10 seconds is the smallest ever at a WIC.
The previous record was 0.18 seconds in 1993 (Jamaica won).

Women’s Pole Vault final

The margin of victory was zero (meaning gold was decided by countback), which happened also in 2008 WIC.
The best mark for place for WIC was tied for 3rd place (4.70 by Rogowska).
Previously Feofanova vaulted 4.70 to finish 3rd in 2004.

Women’s Shot Put

Best marks for place at the WIC were broken for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th
     Before
1st  20.85  20.55  Korzhanenko  2003
2nd  20.49  20.33  Huang Zhihong 1991
3rd  20.42  20.14  Losch 1987
6th  19.34  19.32  Laza 1989
8th      18.77   18.58  Krivelyova 1991

Ukhov, his Russian teammate Yaroslav Rybakov and Dusty Jonas of the USA all got 2.31 - the Russian pair on the first attempt, Jonas on his second. Ryabkov had kept a clean sheet up until then, Ukhov had had one miss at the previous height of 2.28.

Ukhov, world leader this year at 2.38, rendered such considerations irrelevant when he went clear at his first attempt at 2.33. Neither Jonas, whose indoor best is 2.32, nor Rybakov could clear and Ukhov was world champion.

He had the bar raised to 2.36, and cleared that first time, too. Javier Sotomayor’s championship record of 2.43 was perhaps a step too far, so Ukhov settled for 2.41, a centimetre higher than the Russian indoor record he set in Pireas last year. It was not to be, not this time anyway.

“My goal was to be in the top three,” Ukhov said, “nothing else. It is always very difficult at big championships to manage, but the final was easier than the qualification. I was not thinking about results, 2.40 or so, just to medal.”

All eight men commenced jumping at the opening height of 2.20 metres. Five, the ultimate three medallists, Britain’s Samson Oni and Jesse Williams of the US, got it at the first attempt. Everyone except Williams, who passed, jumped again at 2.24. All succeeded with the same five men keeping their sheets clean.

So at 2.28, all eight finalists were still alive. Oni and Martin Gunther of Germany bowed out there. Kabelo Kgosiemang of Botswana needed all three attempts to get over.

On to 2.31, where the medals were decided. Only the medallists got over, though Williams saved one remaining attempt for 2.33 before he ran out of chances.

Ukhov’s first-time clearance at 2.33 put the pressure on Rybakov who now needed to match that clearance to retain his edge on countback. He missed once, as did Jonas, and now Ukhov was in the gold medal position. The medal never left his hands after that.

Ukhov was European indoor champion last year, but finished only 10th in Berlin where Rybakov won at 2.32. Now he has a world title to his name and further honours to chase.

Tamgho’s mark was also the world leader surpassing Italian Fabrizio Donato’s 17.39m mark from this winter. But the first round was far from over seasoned 28-year-old Cuban Yoandri Betanzos producing a lifetime best 17.69m for a clear lead and another world leading mark in the competition. Betanzos, who won the World indoor bronze medal both in 2004 and 2006, had jumped 17.42m indoors and 17.65m outdoors before this competition. Swede Christian Olsson, coming back to world’s top level in his first major competition since coming back from an injury late in 2009, also jumped well in the first round reaching 17.23m and third place. This was a very good opener for the World indoor record co-holder  (17.83m in 2004), but his injury problems seem to be far from over as he was only able to jump twice today. David Giralt of Cuba, defending his 2008 World indoor silver medal from Valencia, moved to fourth place with 17.15m opener still in the same round one.

After this the action seemed to freeze for a long time. Former world leader Donato moved to fifth place with a 16.88m mark and Giralt came closer to Olsson with a 17.21m jump in round two, but those were the only things happening before round five. With Olsson again passing his attempt it was Giralt moving to third place with a 17.36m season’s best result in round five. But that wasn’t all since Tamgho too got a better jump and closer to the gold medal with a 17.50m effort, another season’s best for the Frenchman.

The best was still to come though. With the three medal finishers decided since Olsson couldn’t jump any more, Giralt wasn’t able to challenge the top duo finishing with a second successive medal at the World indoors, a bronze one this time. The best performance of these championships came when Teddy Tamgho jumped for the last time getting everything right. The French youngster landed well over the World indoor record marking next to the sandpit setting a new record of 17.90m surpassing the old one by seven centimetres. The old record 17.83m had been co-held by Cuban Aliecer Urrutia, who jumped his mark in Sindelfingen, Germany in March 1997 and Christian Olsson who won the 2004 World indoor title in Budapest with this result. This also was the first and only World indoor record of this meet.

Not surprisingly, Tamgho himself was surprised of his result too:  “I didn’t think I’d be able to achieve such a performance today. I knew I had it in me, because last year in Bercy, I had a foul close to 18m. Today, I thought if I won, it would be around 17.60m. But after the Cuban jumped 17.69m, I had to react and give it all. I can’t tell my emotions.”

Unbelievably Tamgho reached the World indoor record only in the tenth career 17 metres plus competition of his career and hopefully he will not lose his great form before the summer season like last year. Betanzos, who was able to answer Tamgho with a good 17.57m effort with his last jump, won his third World indoor medal getting a silver with a 17.69m personal best and David Giralt was third with a 17.36m season’s best. Former champion Christian Olsson was dropped to fourth place with 17.23m in the competition where only four athletes went over 17 metres limit. Fabrizio Donato, who had come to Doha as the number one jumper in the world, was disappointed and could only jump 16.88m, more than a metre off the winner Tamgho.

Jadel Gregório of Brazil was sixth with a 16.78m best result and Slovak Dmitrij Valukevic and Russian Igor Spasovkhodskiy were seventh and eighth with results 16.72m and 16.42m respectively. The reigning World junior champion from 2008 now became the World indoor champion, something that usually doesn’t happen in just two years time.