Record Participation for Maebashi World Indoor Championships: Gebrselassie sets his sights on 3000m Record
10 February, 1999 - Monaco – The largest ever number of athletes are scheduled to participate in the 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships, which will take place in Maebashi (JPN) from 5-7 March. No less than 717 athletes, representing 123 countries, will take part, making this without question the major sporting event of the winter of 1999. All five continents will be represented and we can expect an exceptional competition and a great show. The history of indoor athletics dates back to the end of the last century and its development was largely centred on the United States. Still today, indoor competitions have a great following in the States: if you want to see the Millrose Games, you need to book your ticket from one year to the next and this has been the case throughout the 92 year history of the event. In Europe, indoor athletics developed more slowly, largely due to a lack of adequate venues; but this gap has now been bridged and the Old Continent and Japan are making a valuable contribution towards the spread of indoor competitions. The first IAAF Indoor Games, were held in 1985, in the Palais Omnisports in Bercy (Paris), anticipating the first edition of the IAAF World Indoor Championships, which took place in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis in 1987, in honour of the American tradition. From 69 countries represented in Paris in 1985, the number increased to 85, with 419 athletes competing, in Indianapolis. In the last edition in Paris in 1997, there were 712 athletes from 118 nations. The progress has been constant (with an exceptional peak of 130 countries in Barcelona ’95, but with a smaller number of athletes – 602 – competing). Granted the geographical position of Japan relative to the majority of competing countries, this year’s figures are exceptional. Maebashi will offer the best of an indoor season which has produced some superb results in this period: from the stunning dashes of America’s Maurice Greene (6.45 in the 60m), to the extraordinary acrobatic exploits of that exceptional Russian pole-vaulter Maksim Tarasov (6.00m). But another event has stirred the enthusiasm of the fans too: the lightning return of Merlene Ottey who, at nearly 39 years old ran 60m in 7.06, confirming her near immortality in the sprints. Another formidable athlete, Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, will be among the stars in Maebashi where, in the 3000m, he will attempt to better the world record of 7:24.90 set by his arch-rival Daniel Komen (KEN) on 8 February 1998 in Budapest. In his indoord debut this season, in Karlsruhe on 24 January, Gebrselassie ran 7:26.80, making it seem perfectly possible for the Ethiopian to add the 3000m indoor record to the 5000m and 10,000m outdoor marks he already owns. ENDS Loading... |