Sacred bet for the athletics planet that now has its eyes on Doha. The capital of Qatar hosts from Friday 27 September the most controversial track and field world championships in history.

Charges of corruption, lack of enthusiasm of spectators, questions about the heat ... In confiding the destiny of its flagship competition in Qatar, the International Federation (IAAF) took the risk to advance in the most total unknown, the country and its 35 to 40 ° C in day hard to practice outdoor sports.

"We're taken for guinea pigs !"

The IAAF and local organizers wanted to put the package to avoid any criticism after the controversy, fueled by the judicial information opened in France for suspicion of corruption around the attribution of the Worlds.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe is reassuring. "You're sitting in the stadium, it's 38-40 degrees outside and it's 23 degrees in the compound.In reality, the heat management will be heavier in Tokyo in the Olympics 2020 than in Doha. the athletes will probably compete in perfect conditions, "he said, evoking a" breathtaking "process, a semi-open but air-conditioned stage thanks to a technology that will also be used for the 2022 World Cup. .

While the World Athletics Championships are usually contested in August, the IAAF has had to postpone for nearly two months the holding of the Worlds (temperatures can rise in the summer, to 50 ° C), resulting in an extended season for athletes.

On the eve of the 50-kilometer walk, a race that is the subject of intense concern and which will not be able to start until 23:30 local time, the French world champion, Yohann Diniz, announced his anger on Friday. "We are taken for idiots," he said. "As much in the stadium, we will have normal conditions, between 24 and 25 degrees, but outside we are put in a furnace that is not possible.There, we are taken for guinea pigs", he adds then that its test will take place under a heat and a high humidity. "We had a questionnaire to see how we would behave in the face of heat and humidity, if we could take a capsule to see how we would react to thermoregulation," he continues. "It pisses me off and I'm sorry to be here."

Free tickets for children and migrants

Another worry in the approach of these Worlds: will the Khalifa stadium be filled? According to the Guardian, only 50,000 tickets were sold for the ten days of competition, for a stadium with 46,000 seats. The organizers would consider distributing free tickets to children and migrants to fill the gaps.

There will not be a crowd of great nights to admire the exploits of the best athletes on the planet while the discipline is desperately looking for a star since the departure of the ultra-media Usain Bolt in 2017. In the absence of the Jamaican "Lightning", the United States hopes to regain dominance in the sprint with, as spearheads, two young people with long teeth, Christian Coleman (23 years old, 100 m) and Noah Lyles (22 years old, 200 m).

World Records in Danger

If Noah Lyles, now the fourth-time performer on the halfway lap (19 sec 50), will have no rival, Coleman will have to fight on two fronts: on the track, where he will have the veteran Justin Gatlin (37 years old) as the main opponent, and outside where he will have to handle intense media pressure after being pinned for three breaches of his anti-doping localization obligations before being cleared by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Beyond the sprint cars, the men's and women's 400m hurdles, the long jump, the women's high, the men's and women's triple jump, or the decathlon could spark with world records in great danger.

On the side of the tricolor selection, however, it will be almost impossible to repeat the prowess of 2017 (5 medals) or the 2016 Olympic Games (6). In addition to Kevin Mayer and Yohann Diniz, the hopes of podium seem reduced (Alexandra Tavernier, Renaud Lavillenie ...).

With AFP