Honorary IOC President Jacques Rogge and IAAF President Sebastian Coe (Getty Images) © Copyright
News Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

IAAF Dinner marks start of Rio 2016 Olympic Games athletics programme

Over 200 members of the global athletics family attended the traditional IAAF Dinner on Thursday night (11) on the eve of the athletics programme of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The event was staged at the picturesque Largo do Arruda in the Alto da Boa Vista district, among the hills to the west of Rio de Janeiro.

Host, IAAF President Sebastian Coe welcomed guests of honour His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and Jacques Rogge, Honorary IOC President, along with members of the IAAF Council and a host of IOC members and IAAF Federations officials.

Joining Coe, Prince Albert and Rogge were Sir Craig Reedie, President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), Carlos Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, Soichi Takahashi, Managing Director of IAAF marketing partner Dentsu, and two IAAF Council members, Nawal El Moutawakel, President of the Rio 2016 Coordination Commission and Roberto Gesta de Melo, South American Area Group Representative.

Joining Coe and El Moutawakel were the other Olympic champions and medallists who sit on the IAAF Council, IAAF Senior Vice President Sergey Bubka, Vice President Alberto Juantorena, Pauline Davis-Thompson and Frank Fredericks.

Other guests included Olympic champions Guy Drut, Irena Szewinska and Valeriy Borzov and also Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, who was recently elected as an IOC Vice President, as well as fellow IOC members Anita De Franz and Austin Sealy.

IAAF