Olympic Newsdesk - IAAF Accepts Doha 2017 Dates; London 2012 Security Measures

(ATR) The bid for the Doha 2017 IAAF World Championships confirms to Around the Rings that its September dates have been accepted by track and field's governing body.

The Qatar Association of Athletics Federation (QAAF), in collaboration with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), submitted its candidacy for the world championships to the IAAF on Sept. 1.

Like the Doha 2020 Olympic bid, the city's 2017 athletics bid committee, headed by QOC secretary general Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, wants to stage the world champs away from the desert nation's fierce summer heat.

As Doha 2017 launched its marketing campaign today, bid spokesman told ATR that the September window proposed by the city had already been approved as falling within the IAAF's acceptable time period.

"We will continue our consultation with the IAAF on this detail and other aspects of the bid over the coming weeks," he said.

Following meetings in Daegu during the just-ended track-and-field world champs, IAAF president Lamine Diack indicated that his federation was open to staging the 2017 championships later in the year because of the intense heat of the Qatari summer when average temperatures in Doha can top 38°C.

Doha is vying with London for the 2017 athletics worlds; Barcelona dropped out last week. An IAAF delegation will hold inspection visits in October.

"Doha 2017 is committed to being a flexible and innovative host in all areas and are looking forward to discussing and finalising all aspects of the bid with the IAAF," the spokesman added.

The bid includes plans to redevelop Khalifa Stadium for athletics championships to make it fully air-conditioned. The climate-controlled venue would include the first ever stadium-wide 100m panoramic screen. The revamp is already part of 2022 FIFA World Cup preparations.

Also proposed is "Athletics City", a new property development concept that combines the athletes village, five-star accommodation option for the IAAF and VIPs and catering, medical and entertainment facilities.

London's chances hinge on the outcome of a judicial review into the Olympic Park Legacy Company's decision to award the stadium to English Premier League club West Ham United after London 2012. They have pledged to retain the athletics track.

Premiership rivals Tottenham Hotspur and League One outfit Leyton Orient are contesting the decision in the High Court on Oct. 18, just a few weeks before the IAAF Council decide the 2017 host city during its meetings in Monaco Nov. 11-12.

London 2012 Vehicle Screening for Westfield

London Olympic organizers will operate security checks on all delivery trucks and selected cars entering the public car parks at the new Westfield shopping centre next to the Olympic Park during its opening year.

LOCOG is working with its security provider G4S to run the vehicle screening areas, which are operational from today until the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in September 2012.

Westfield Stratford City, Europe's largest urban shopping centre at 1.9 million sq ft, opens Sept. 13.

"Delivering a safe and secure Games is a key priority for everyone involved in London 2012. With Westfield so close to the Olympic Park and with vehicle access to it directly accessed from the Park, it is an obvious and important part of our security plans," LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton said.

Rowing Worlds End: 2015 Host, Olympic Qualifications

The International Rowing Federation announced today that the 2015 World Rowing Championships will be hosted by Aiguebelette in France.

Aigubelette, which held the worlds in 1997, beat off competition frmo Strathclyde in Scotland and Varese, Italy, to secure the event.

However, the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships were awarded to Varese, Italy, a venue in the northern Italian region of Lombardia.

The decision came at today's FISA's annual congress in Bled, Slovenia following the conclusion of the 2011 World Rowing Championships. Representatives from nearly 60 member rowing federations were present. The Congress was Presided by Denis Oswald, FISA President.

Other news from the congress included the additionof new members - Bahamas, Namibia, Cap Vert, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Mongolia - bringing the total number of FISA national member federations to 136. Lenka Wech from Germany, a two-time world champion in the women’s eight, was elected to replace Jean-Christophe Rolland of France as the new chair of the FISA Athlete’s Commission.

FISA also announced that it will hold the first stage of the 2013 and 2014 World Rowing Cup regatta series in Sydney, Australia. This marks a big step in FISA’s global strategy to take the World Rowing Cup series out of Europe.

Delegates selected Copenhagen to host FISA’s Extraordinary Congress in 2013, the year following the Olympics. Held every four years, the Extraordinary Congress is the only opportunity for alterations to FISA’s statutes and rules of racing.

The next Ordinary Congress will be held on 17 August 2012 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, 33 countries qualified boats for the London 2012 Olympics at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia. A total of 129 boats qualified for the Games with Great Britain securing the highest number of boats - succeeding in 13 out of the 14 Olympic events.

The qualified boats mean that the country, rather than the athletes, earn a spot in the Olympics. Individual countries now have the opportunity to pick their best athletes for the qualified boatsto compete in next year's Games.

Further opportunities for Olympic qualification include continental for Asian, African and Latin American nations to earn spots. A final Olympic qualification competition takes place in Lucerne, Switzerland next May.

Mountain Bike Worlds Conclude

The Mountain Bike World Championships concluded in Champery, Switzerland on Sunday with. Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic and Canada's Catharine Pendrel winning gold in the cross-country races.

In the men's competition, Kulhavy triumphed over former world champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland and Olympic champion Julien Absalon of France who were second and third.

Pendrel won the five-lap women's race. Poland's Maja Wloszczowska, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist, trailed in second with Eva Lechner of Italy taking bronze.

Reported by Mark Bisson