Athletics

World Championships
The first World Championships in Athletics finally took place 22 to 28 September 2008 in Izmir, Turkey. It was a great pleasure that these World Championships at last become a reality.

It was with great courage the Turkish Deaf Sports Federation took the task to organise this great event with such short notice after my site inspection in December 2007. They have outdone the great expectations and with a few exceptions everything was accomplished as expected.

No less than 36 countries with 372 athletes had been pre-registered for these Championships which may be a (World) record for an ICSD World Championship. However, 4 countries did not show up why the total number of participants was 32 countries and 318 athletes.

The competitions took place in the large "Atatürk Stadium", which has an IAAF "A" classification.

Opening Ceremony
Immediately after the first technical meeting the opening ceremony took place at the stadium. After the parade of all participating countries, the Turkish Deaf Sports Federation welcomed everyone. After a welcome speech by the ICSD President, Ms. Donalda Ammons, the World Championships was officially declared opened. Then a deaf dance group in national costumes entertained and finally sensational fireworks ended the opening ceremony.

The Competitions
The World Championships were held for 5 days. It was a hard programme without one day break in between. Despite a few problems the competitions were carried out as planned. However, the absence of four countries that had entered a large number of athletes caused some problems for the organisation of a few events.

Marathon
The Marathon was held on the last day. Everything was ready: Police on motorcycles, supporting cars, ambulance and in front a car with timing during the run. In short, everything was perfect from the start – but unfortunately at the finish line assistance given to the athletes was rather slow. However, one thing was missing: Too few runners – for such large organisation!  For the first time the marathon were run on a straight out and home route. 7 men and 5 women finished the marathon event.

Farewell Party
After the closing ceremony on the stadium everyone went to the Farewell Party. The party was held in a large hall with tables, chairs and a large buffet. Youths as well as older people were dancing on the floor. It was a cheerful evening with good atmosphere and spirits. After the dinner a large number of speeches were held and many accomplished the Turkish organisers for a successful arrangement, despite some snafus. With this party the 1st World Championships in athletics found a positive ending.

Many New World Records and Junior World Records
There may be something magnetic at the Atatürk Stadium! No less than 23 World Records were made, 10 by seniors and 13 by juniors. It was a great pleasure to not only the athletes in question but also the judges, referees and the organisers. I was told that it was the first time World Records were made at this stadium.

Technical Assistance
I am very grateful that Mr. Wayne Langbein, ICSD staff member, took the initiative to edit the WC 2008 homepage updating the information, daily results, photos and a lot of other information so everybody could follow the World Championships closely. In addition he was a good coordinator for the organising committee. This was very important to get the daily work running smoothly.

Photos
It was not only myself but also many others that were very happy to have our photographer, Anton Schneid, walking around and take a photo of almost everything that happened during the week. He took many beautiful shots resulting in clear and sharp pictures. I was told that he took around 3000 photos! This work was done on a voluntary basis which was very generous by him. I do not really know how we shall thank him! I hope to see him the next time in Taipei!

Thanks
At the end of this report I want to thank the ICSD President, Donalda Ammons for her valuable assistance during the Championships and thanks also to the Turkey Organising Committee members for excellent cooperation during the championships. t was a pleasure to work together with especially the chief referee, Mr. Müslüm.

Results
The full results from the World Deaf Athletics Championships and a large number of photos can be found on this website - www.2008athletics.org.  A list of all medal winners can be found here.

Future World Championships
At the 2nd Technical Meeting in Izmir questions were raised about interest for having World Championships for indoor athletics and cross country. There was a large interest and it was agreed to try to have the World Championships as follow: Cross Country 2010, Indoor 2011 and Outdoor 2012.

New World Records
A large number of World records, including junior records, have been made during 2008, not only during the World Championships in Izmir but also through the year. In total 49 World Records, hereof 30 Junior World Records have been set during the year 2008 until the end of October. It is expected that a few more records will be ratified during the last two months of 2008. A list of all approved World Records will be posted in the next E-News edition.

Barbara C. SØNDERGAARD
ICSD Technical Director - Athletics