Eliud Kipchoge winning the 2016 Olympic marathon in Rio (© GSC / ADHM)
Olympic champion and world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya has donated one of the shoes in which he sped to victory in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games marathon.
The winning left shoe of the 2018 IAAF World Athlete of the Year will be one of the featured items in the IAAF Heritage World Athletics Championships Exhibition, a six-month display which will open in Doha on 18 April.
“I’m really pleased that my career will be permanently represented in the IAAF Heritage Collection,” said Eliud Kipchoge, who has also given a signed copy of the book detailing his world record run in Berlin. “My running career has still far to go but I’m proud to donate one of my shoes from my Rio victory to be preserved for future generations of fans and publicly displayed. I hope it helps to motivate more people to take up the wonderful sport of running.”
Opening ceremony
In one month, in a special ceremony on the evening of Thursday 18 April, IAAF President Sebastian Coe together with Dahlan Al Hamad, IAAF Vice President and Director General of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 Local Organising Committee, will officially open the IAAF Heritage Exhibition in the City Center Doha, Qatar’s largest shopping mall.
3000 years and counting
The 400m2 exhibition will feature the world’s largest ever display of athletics artefacts and memorabilia, dating from 2nd Century B.C. to the present day.
In text, photographic and video displays, the exhibition succinctly tells the story of the sport’s 3000-year history.
Introductory displays cover athletics as it emerged from the ancient Olympic Games in 776 B.C. The story is carried through to the first modern Olympic Games of 1896, the foundation of the IAAF in 1912 and to creation of the IAAF World Championships in 1983.
World Championships history
At the heart of the exhibition are 10 huge display panels summarising the history of the 16 editions of the IAAF World Athletics Championships. Additional specialised displays include the histories of the six continental areas, Qatari athletics and the development of Asics spikes. There is also a preview of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 accompanied by a SEIKO countdown clock and QNB display.
Six video screens, including a small cinema room where longer championship highlights will be screened, will offer plenty of competition footage from world championships history.
Along with interactive features, there will be plenty of variety for all ages of visitors to enjoy and explore in the exhibition which will run until 7 October, the day after the end of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
The IAAF Heritage World Athletics Championships Exhibition is kindly supported by the International Athletics Foundation, ASICS and SEIKO.
IAAF
