News11 Mar 2009


Berlin 2009 presents 17 German “Faces of the World Championships”

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Lufthansa Senior Vice President Klaus Walther, Petra Lammert (Shot Put, Gold, Turin), Silke Spiegelburg (Pole Vault, Silver, Turin), Governing Mayor of Berlin and President of the LOC, Klaus Wowereit (© LOC)

BerlinGermanyThe Local Organising Committee for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin 2009 (15 to 23 Aug 2009) on Monday (9) presented the German “Faces of the World Championships” at a reception in the Red Town Hall (Rotes Rathaus) Berlin.

The event was hosted by the Governing Mayor of Berlin and President of the World Championships Organising Committee, Klaus Wowereit.

Together with Dr. Clemens Prokop, the Executive President of the World Championships Organising Committee as well as President of the German Athletics Association (DLV), Wowereit also presented the German airline Lufthansa as the third National Partner and unveiled a banner at a prominent position outside the Town Hall.

17 German athletes, led by the freshly-crowned gold medal winners from the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy, Sebastian Bayer and Petra Lammert, were then officially presented as the German “Faces of the World Championships” by commentator Ralf Scholt.

The Faces of the World Championships are:

Sebastian Bayer (Long Jump), Danny Ecker (Pole Vault), Ariane Friedrich (High Jump), Robert Harting (Discus), Betty Heidler (Hammer Throw), Raphael Holzdeppe (Pole Vault), Bianca Kappler (Long Jump), Petra Lammert (Shot Put), Irina Mikitenko (Marathon), Steffi Nerius (Javelin), André Niklaus (Decathlon), Christina Obergföll (Javelin), Robin Schembera (800m), Sina Schielke (Sprinter), Lilli Schwarzkopf (Heptathlon), Raúl Spank (High Jump), and Silke Spiegelburg (Pole Vault)

The Faces of the World Championships will be integrated into the communications activities leading up to the World Championships, helping to further increase enthusiasm for Berlin 2009

Sebastian Bayer, who come within 8 cm of the World indoor record set by Carl Lewis in 1984 as he became the new European champion in the Long Jump with a sensational 8.71 metres in Turin, improving the European record by 15 cm, is looking forward to the World Championships in Berlin:

“I think it is superb to have the World Championships in my own country, because I want to show my best perfomances in an Olympic Stadium filled with fabulous fans and show the world how amazing the Long Jump is.”

Dr. Clemens Prokop stated: “With the Faces of the World Championships, we have a good mix of young aspiring athletes and experienced athletes. The younger generation of athletes has recently demonstrated excellent performances and is thus ringing in a new and euphoric spirit of optimism in German athletics.”

Prior to the reception in the Red Town Hall, together with top athletes Robert Harting, Christina Obergföll and Sina Schielke as well as the World Championships mascot, Klaus Wowereit and Dr. Clemens Prokop unveiled a banner created by the company Berlin Partner. Depicting the World Championships mascot, the banner will hang over the main entrance until the start of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics to promote the world’s largest sports event of the year.

For the first time, the slogan of Berlin 2009 was also revealed: “Have a good time!” – a call to all friends, fans, and guests of the World Championships to celebrate a great and fun athletics fest in Berlin and to enjoy the exciting city.

Further information on the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, including ticket sales, is available online at www.berlin2009.org.

Berlin 2009 LOC

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