GERMANY: ATHLETICS/OLYMPICS - Long-standing IAAF chief Lamine Diack considers another term

Record ID: 783212

  • Title: GERMANY: ATHLETICS/OLYMPICS - Long-standing IAAF chief Lamine Diack considers another term
  • Date: 15th August 2009
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 14, 2009) (REUTERS) INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATHLETICS FEDERATIONS (IAAF) PRESIDENT LAMINE DIACK AND INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) PRESIDENT JACQUES ROGGE SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER AND WALKING TO PODIUM, SITTING DOWN WITH THEIR SPOKESMEN CAMERA CREWS FILMING WIDE OF PODIUM REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAMINE DIACK, IAAF PRESIDENT SAYING: "It is possible if I am in good shape. Many people are asking me to do that, independent from my health. I will go, if not, if I have prepared some people to take over." SIDE SHOT OF PODIUM, PAN ACROSS REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACQUES ROGGE, IOC PRESIDENT SAYING: "This morning, we had a follow up of the past and future Games but I must say, there were no particular remarks or points for action for the Games in Beijing (whose) success we rejoiced. London, we were reassured by the excellent preparations done and the choice for the Games of 2016 is very promising as the four candidate cities are absolutely capable of staging very good games." REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACQUES ROGGE, IOC PRESIDENT SAYING: "I can not make comments on the audiences in other continents and in other organisations of IAAF but I believe that there is still vast and healthy interest in track and field. Track and field is -- and no on will challenge that -- the most universal sport. It is at the Olympic Games the most important sport and it has fantastic assets. There is no doubt about that." OFFICIALS LISTENING DIACK AND ROGGE SHAKING HANDS, THEN WALKING OFF
  • Embargoed: 30th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA678OZ9M75CO69BSGB2QSPO6W4
  • Story Text: Long-standing world athletics chief Lamine Diack may run again for the athletics top job if he still feels fit enough in 2011, the 76-year-old Senegalese said in Berlin on Friday (August 14).
    "It is possible if I am in good shape," Diack told reporters. "Many people are asking me to do that. I will go, if not, if I have prepared some people to take over."
    Diack, who took over the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1999 following the death of his predecessor Primo Nebiolo, had hinted in the past he would not run again after his current term ends, to make place for a younger generation of athletics officials.
    Former Olympic pole-vault champion Sergey Bubka, the IAAF senior vice president, and Olympic 1,500m gold medallist Sebastian Coe, an IAAF vice president, have been tipped as potential successors.
    Diack was speaking at a joint news conference with Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
    Rogge told reporters that the morning's joint meeting between IOC and IAAF representatives was "a follow up of the past and future Games but I must say, there were no particular remarks or points for action for the Games in Beijing (whose) success we rejoiced."
    "London, we were reassured by the excellent preparations done and the choice for the Games of 2016 is very promising as the four candidate cities are absolutely capable of staging very good games," Rogge said.
    The candidates to host the 2016 Games are Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
    Prague, Baku in Azerbaijan and Doha in Qatar were also in the running but were not shortlisted.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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