DOHA, Qatar — The 2019 IAAF World Track and Field Championships are just getting started, but the SOJC Track Bureau has been off and running for a week. We crossed state lines for the first time in June to cover the Prefontaine Classic at Stanford, and now we’ve gone international.
Here are the stories we’ve written in advance of worlds, starting with four from Tuesday’s practice at the Qatar Sports Club:
Mariam Farid, a 400-meter hurdler for home nation Qatar, spoke with Brooklynn Loiselle about her involvement with bringing the world championships to a Middle Eastern country for the first time.
Seven-time U.S. javelin champion Kara Winger talked to Brett Taylor about her experience in Doha and the lack of expectations being a good thing.
Christian Coleman spoke with the media for the first time since the controversy surrounding his missed drug tests. Alex Castle wrote about Coleman’s response to U.S. Anti-Doping Agency process and his focus on the 100-meter race.
In her first professional season, Nikki Hiltz exceeded her own expectations by qualifying for the world championships. Nate Mann wrote about her goals for the 1,500 meters and how the heat will impact her.
The four athletes at the U.S. team press conference on Wednesday didn’t express concerns about the heat and humidity in Doha. Brooklynn has more on their comments about the weather.
Coburn continued her outspokenness on the issue of doping in track and field during the press conference. Nate wrote about her history of speaking out against alleged cheating.
Track and field may be an individual sport, but the U.S. athletes appear to be bonding behind closed doors. While avoiding the heat, different groups of athletes are spending time together at their hotel playing games such as ping pong and Super Smash Bros. Read about Team USA’s camaraderie from Brett here.
Although the athletes are focused on the next 10 days of competition, they did express excitement of a world championship event being held “at home” in 2021. (That’s our home, too, at Hayward Field.) Alex wrote about the present and future for this team and the world championships.
