Ostrava awaits former and future champions

The 5th IAAF World Youth Championships will get underway on Wednesday 11 July and yet action here in Ostrava is expected to start as of tomorrow morning with the IAAF Ostrava Masterclass.

For the third time after Sherbrooke 2003 and Marrakech 2005 the IAAF will offer participants of the World Youth Championships a once in a lifetime experience. Over the next couple of days they will have the unique opportunity of talking to and learning from Olympic champions, World champions and World record holders.

IAAF Ambassadors Wilson Kipketer, Svetlana Masterkova, Marie José Pérec and Steve Ovett arrived in Ostrava this afternoon and will be sharing their experiences with hundreds of teenagers who are scheduled to compete in their first ever World Championships here.

The four international stars will be accompanied by local all-time greats Jan Zelezny, Sarka Kasparkova and Ludmila Formanova.

The current World Indoor and Outdoor record holder Kipketer is much awaited by the youngsters; the team of Puerto Rico gathered outside the University Hall and eagerly waited for his arrival to get a precious autograph from the Danish legend.

1996 double Olympic champions Pérec and Masterkova who were the most successful track athletes at the Atlanta Games eleven years ago met again here in Ostrava and are looking forward to passing on their knowledge to the stars of tomorrow.

Former World record holder and Olympic champion Ovett, himself a father of four, will act as the master of ceremony of the workshop which is expected to be an inspiration for young athletes.

Three-time World champion and World record holder Jan Zelezny is travelling back from Guatemala where he participated in the IOC session to be part of this important promotion of athletics while former World champions Formanova and Kasparkova will meet not only participants of the World Youth Championships but also local youngsters in an autograph signing session organized in the centre of Ostrava.

The IAAF Ostrava Masterclass which will also include an anti-doping educational presentation and training sessions at the Vitkovice Stadium should leave unforgettable memories for the next generation of track and field champions!