Doha World Championships Notebook - Day 8

Noah Lyles is a gentle giant

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America’s track and field star Noah Lyles may be lightning-fast but in person, the 22-year-old is a gentle giant. With a personal best of 9.86 seconds in 100 meters and 19.50 seconds over 200m, Lyles, who is also the 300-metres indoor world record holder with a time of 31.87, has a likeable personality and easily gets along well with fellow athletes and journalists.

He is fast inheriting Usain Bolt’s title as the world’s most watchable athlete after storming to victory in men’s 200m on Tuesday. At the World Championships, Lyles has come across as an effortless entertainer who is comfortable in on and off the spotlight. On Tuesday after timing 19.82 seconds to take the men’s 200m ahead of Canada’s Andre de Grasse, the freshly-minted champion took time to pose for selfies with his fans. Once inside the mixed zone, journalists were jostling to interview American, and he took time to field questions from each and every single one of them. Other scribes even had time to take selfies with him.

Khalifa Stadium is an architectural marvel

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Khalifa International Stadium in Doha which is hosting the 2019 World Athletics Championships is an architectural marvel. The stadium, which was opened in 1976, has been renovated for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. It has a capacity for 48,000 people.

Also known as National Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium that forms part of the Doha Sports City complex. Also part of the Doha Sports City Complex is the world-renown Aspire Academy, Hamad Aquatic Centre, and the Aspire Tower.

The stadium was named after Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's former Emir. Since its renovation, a new tier has added 12,000 seats and the whole stadium has a beautiful new look, with LED pitch lighting and digital floodlights which promise a new experience to sports fans. journalists competing in the media fun race had a feel of the playing surface.

Doha springs to life at night

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While nights are generally cooler, day temperatures in Qatar can reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius. The highest temperatures we have experienced here is 47 degrees Celsius and the coolest has been 30 degrees Celsius. With such high temperatures, most people stay indoors unless there is a compelling reason to venture out. Most people venture out at night when it is much cooler.

Construction of roads and houses also peaks at night and heavy machinery can be seen towering in the skies as Qatar rushes to finish work on transport infrastructure in time for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Evening is also the time for Qataris to meet friends over a drink. Although no beer is sold in hotels and clubs after 2pm, people have devised ways of buying ‘early stock’ for use long after the deadline.

Thrilling media race

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Journalists covering the 2019 World Athletics Championships had their day out on the running track on Friday. Scribes competed in 800 metres race at Khalifa International Stadium and Meshack Kisenge of The Star Newspaper claimed bronze medal after recording a personal best time of 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Supported by a greatly outnumbered but very vocal team of Kenyan journalists, Kisenge set the pace early on in the race but soon ran out of gas and finished third behind colleagues from South America. After the race, an elated Kisenge was over the moon, smiling from ear to ear and signing autographs long after the medals ceremony was over. Kisenge said his aim is to improve his personal best in future championships.