NAIROBI, July 18 -- The recently-concluded International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Under-18 Athletics Championships which ended in Nairobi on July 16 was a great success despite musing some big names.
Athletics powerhouse, the U.S. who were also the defending championships, led five other nations in pulling out of the event, citing security concerns.
Switzerland, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada also cited security reasons but the latter four added the rider that the event was too close to the Commonwealth Youth Games scheduled for July 18-23 in Bahamas where up to 1,300 young athletes from 70 nations and territories aged between 14 and 18 are expected to attend.
"The fears were unfounded because we held successful and incident-free games. Boycotting nations are the biggest losers and probably it is time they told us the actual reasons for their pulling out," the CEO of the local organizing committee (LOC) Mwangi Muthee told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Boycotts hurt athletes the most and those who were absent from the Nairobi event missed out on all the fun and a chance to gauge their performance among the best runners of their age bracket.
Even as they referred to security fears as their basis for pulling out, it is instructive to note that nowhere is safe all over the world and incidents of terrorism happen in Europe and in other places that were once thought to be safe.
The Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013 did not stop people from attending the event - in fact, more people turned out the following year to spite terrorists by not allowing to conceding territory to them.
【体坛英语资讯:IAAF World U-18 Championships end in success despite musing some big names: official】相关文章:
★ 体坛英语资讯:Liu leads Chinese Osaka charge
★ 体坛英语资讯:Zenit lift UEFA Cup in historical glory
★ 体坛英语资讯:World Cup champions beaten, runners-up held to draw in Group of Death
★ 体坛英语资讯:Yao-Yi matchup could set ratings records
★ 体坛英语资讯:Arsenal back on top as Chelsea end goal drought
★ 体坛英语资讯:China overpowered 77-83 in friendly
★ 体坛英语资讯:Germany seal berth of Euro 2008 semifinals
★ 体坛英语资讯:Xinjiang stripped of CBA playoff spot
★ 体坛英语资讯:Portugal advances, Switzerland eliminated at Euro 2008
★ 体坛资讯:Iran tops group of death, beating China 77-68
最新
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15