Beijing 2015 Wrap - Bach Meets Chinese Premier; Eritrea First Gold

(ATR) IOC president Thomas Bach met Chinese premier Li Keqiangahead of the opening ceremony of the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.

Discussion points included how China is building on the legacy of the 2008 Olympics and preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. The Chinese capital beat Almaty to land the Games in an IOC vote in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Bach said the IOC was looking forward to working together with the city for the next seven years "to make the Games a success for China, for the world, and for the Olympic Movement".

Premier Li told the IOC chief that they were in the process of putting together the Beijing 2022 organising committee and offered assurances the Games would be economical and sustainable. "We will not let you down," he said.

The Chinese government leader also spoke about the contribution sport can make to society. He said that "increasingly people in China were spending more time on sport and really wanted healthy lifestyles", going on to highlight the positive role for sport in improving the health of China's 1.3 billion population.

On Saturday, ATR is told that Bach will meet Chinese president before Xi Jinpingopens the Aug. 22-30 world championships. Beijing is the fourth Asian city to host the worlds after Tokyo in 1991, Osaka in 2007 and Daegu in 2011.

Beijing 2015 organisers say the evening sessions are all sold-out but admitted this week they don’t expect 50,000 capacity crowds in the mornings. So it proved on Saturday. The lower two tiers of seating at the Bird’s Nest stadium were barely half full, impacting on the atmosphere for the opening series of events.

There were no major queues at the ticketing entrances where security controls were in place. ATR correspondent Mark Bisson had his bag screened and was even asked to remove his shoes to have them checked before being allowed access to the stadium.

Several buses carrying teams of athletes got stuck in traffic on the way to the stadium and arrived later than expected, disrupting athletes’ preparations for the opening morning of track and field events.ATR understands that the road closures created by the marathon resulted in some buses being delayed. One sat still for 40 minutes of the journey.

First Gold

19-year-old Ghirmay Ghebreslassie upset the favorites to win Eritrea’s first ever world championships gold medal, winning the men’s marathon in hot and humid conditions on the streets of Beijing in a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes,27 seconds. Silver medallist was Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia, with Solomon Mutai of Uganda taking bronze.

Ghebreslassie became the youngest man to win the marathon at the IAAF’s flagship event, now in its 15th edition. Eritrea topped the medal table through Saturday afternoon.

The sizzling heat – around 28 degrees Celsius at the end of the race in the Bird’s Nest – saw some of the favorites drop out of contention.

Concerns about air pollution in the Chinese capital, and its impact on marathon runners in particular, evaporated on Friday and Saturday when the first blue skies of the week were seen. Air quality was termed "good" by the U.S Embassy Beijing Air Quality Monitor through most of Saturday.

In the buildup to the worlds, Beijing 2015 organisers have attempted to improve air quality by temporarily closing coal-powered factories and reducing the number of the vehicles on the roads – they adopted similar measures before the 2008 Olympics.

2024 Olympic Bids in Beijing

Paris and Rome bid officials spoke to ATR on the sidelines of the IOC meetings and the world championships. They have a low-key presence in Beijing, taking valuable lessons from the organization of the event.

For Paris, chief executive Etienne Thobois, IOC member Guy Drut and NOC president Denis Masseglia are in town. Rome 2024’s international relations and planning manager Simone Perillo is among the Italian bid officials in attendance.

Cheap Stadium Refreshments

For spectators at the Bird’s Nest, some of whom bought tickets at the discount price of $1.50, food and beverages have also been made very affordable. Coca-Cola is 5 Yuan (78 cents), water 63 cents, an ice cream and a bag of crisps are both priced $1.57.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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