The new track surface at Dakar’s Stade Iba Mar Diop (© Ba)
Dakar, SenegalIAAF President Lamine Diack and Youssoupha Ndiaye, the Senegalese Minister of State for Sports have officially opened the newly resurfaced track of Dakar’s Stade Iba Mar Diop.
400 athletes have gathered in the Senegalese capital for the 44th national championships this Friday and Saturday (9 -10 July), and will compete on the new track which has been funded by the IAAF and the Senegalese state.
The Stade Iba Mar Diop, which is situated right in the heart of the city centre could not be finished before the annual Dakar international meeting which took place in April because reconstruction works being carried on the now fully renovated stadium would have damaged the surface if it had been laid any earlier.
The stadium played host to the Africa versus USA match in 1973 and the first ever African championships in 1979, both events which owed so much to the inspiration of Lamine Diack who was then head of the African Athletics Confederation (CAA).
The previous track surface had been used since 1986, and the newly refurbished facilities include a tribune which can hold 5000 spectators. La dernière
Oumar Ba for the IAAF