In one month, in a special ceremony on the evening of Thursday 18 April, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe together with Dahlan Al Hamad, IAAF Vice President and Director General of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 Local Organising Committee, will officially open the IAAF Heritage Exhibition in the City Center Doha, Qatar’s largest shopping mall.
Reigning Olympic champion and world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya has donated one of the shoes in which he sped to victory in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games marathon.
The winning left shoe of the 2018 IAAF World Athlete of the Year will be one of the featured items in the ‘IAAF Heritage World Athletics Championships Exhibition’ which is a six-month display that will open in Doha on 18 April.
Eliud Kipchoge, who also gave a signed copy of the book detailing his world record run in Berlin, said:
I’m really pleased that my career will be permanently represented in the IAAF Heritage Collection. My running career still has far to go but I’m proud to donate one of my shoes from my Rio victory to be preserved for future generations of fans and publicly displayed. I hope it helps to motivate more people to take up the wonderful sport of running.’
The exhibition will feature the world’s largest ever display of athletics artefacts and memorabilia, dating from 2nd Century BCE to the present day. In text, photographic and video displays, the exhibition succinctly tells the story of the sport’s 3000-year history.
Introductory displays cover athletics as it emerged from the ancient Olympic Games in 776 BCE. The story is carried through to the first modern Olympic Games of 1896, the founding of the IAAF in 1912 and to the creation of the IAAF World Championships in 1983.
At the heart of the exhibition are ten huge display panels summarising the history of the 16 editions of the IAAF World Athletics Championships. Additionally, specialised displays include the histories of the six continental areas, Qatari athletics and the development of ASICS spikes. There is also a preview of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 accompanied by a SEIKO countdown clock and QNB display.
Six video screens, including a small cinema room where longer championship highlights will be screened, will offer plenty of competition footage from world championships history.
Along with interactive features, there will be plenty of variety for all ages of visitors to enjoy and explore in the exhibition which will run until the 7 October, the day after the end of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
For more information please visit the IAAF website or get your tickets here.