Track and Field athletes are to run fewer rounds after the IAAF revamped and revolutionised competition timetables for Daegu 2011 World Championships & London 2012 Olympics.
In line with recent developments to the IAAF Competition Programme, this year's IAAF World Championships, Daegu 2011 (27 Aug to 4 Sep 2011), will mark a first in the history of the competition.
A brand new and modern approach has led to a revamped and revolutionized competition timetable which has been designed in order to reach optimum impact for both the fans and media on the one hand but also in order to support athletes in their race for glory.
The Daegu competition timetable has also served as a standardized model for the Athletics competition timetable for the Games of the XXX Olympiad which has been unveiled today.
The philosophy behind the new competition timetable in Daegu which was presented by the IAAF Competition Delegates and approved by the IAAF Council was three fold:
- To have evening sessions of not more than 3 hours
- To have a balanced number of finals across all days
- To schedule qualification rounds in the morning sessions only
Let's take a closer look at some of the principal changes:
For the first time in almost three decades, there will be only three rounds in the men's and women's 100m and 200m. With the declared intention of having no more than three rounds in each running event, IAAF Delegates have significantly curtailed the timings for the sprinting events.
In order to complete yet another sprint double Usain Bolt will need to race "only" six times in Daegu. In both Beijing and Berlin, the triple World record holder had to step on the track 8 times to claim his 100 and 200m gold medals.
Notably, a "Preliminary" round in the men's and women's 100m, traditionally the event with the highest number of entrants and highest number of non-qualified athletes, has been introduced.
The "Preliminary" round will be held before the main three rounds of the men's and women's 100m in order to give an opportunity to athletes who have neither the ‘A' nor the ‘B' standard to take part in the World Championships*. The qualification procedure from the "Preliminary" rounds will be determined depending on the number of final entrants.
In both the men and women's 400m, athletes will be required to run three rounds spread on three consecutive days when previously a rest day was allowed before the final.
With the one-lap events being scheduled in the earlier part of the programme, a longer 200-400 sprint double is realistically achievable in Daegu. A feat only accomplished once before in the history of the IAAF World Championships by Michael Johnson in Gothenburg 1995.
It will also be a first when the men's 4x100m relay concludes the IAAF World Championships competition programme in Daegu, a revolution after 28 years of having the men's longer relay ending the proceedings.
Outside the track, all road race events which include the three race walking events and the men's and women's marathon, will start and finish outside the stadium in line with the previous edition of the IAAF World Championships in Berlin which took place around the Brandenburg Gate.
Click here to read the full Entry Standards and Rules for Daegu 2011
IAAF 2011