British double Olympic champion Mo Farah on Thursday backed plans for a night-time marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships to be held in Qatar.
Farah , speaking in Doha where he will compete in the 3,000 meters at the 2015 -Diamond League opener on Friday, said he supported any idea that would make athletics more "exciting."
"A night marathon which is proven is better for us in terms of climate ... why not?" the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 -meters gold medalist told a news conference.
"I think sometimes I look at athletics and how do we make it exciting? It can be exciting if we work together.
"All the time you see football on TV. It's important that we give back something to the sport and to build athletics."
A night-time marathon was one of the proposals in Qatar's successful bid to host the 2019 event.
The plan is for the runners to compete on a specially lit course along Doha's waterfront, the Corniche.
Farah is widely expected to make the switch in distances to marathon running, although he will first defend his Olympic titles in Rio next year.
The 32-year-old finished eighth in his first marathon , in London, last year. Despite his placing he still broke the English record, finishing in 2 hours 8 minutes and 21 seconds.
He was speaking after Dahlan al-Hamad, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) vice-president who is a Qatari, confirmed that Doha was still planning to press ahead with a night-time race.
He said athletics needed "-innovation" and hoped the event would be "one of the best" of the championships.
"Innovation is something that we need," he said. "When we proposed the night marathon, we did not propose is just because we sat on the table and said 'OK.' We have practiced it and made a test for it."
Doha would not be the first athletics venue to host a -marathon run at night.
In 1964 the Olympic -marathon in Rome finished in the dark , with a course lit by torches. The winner, Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila, ran barefoot.
The 2019 championships will be held in late September and early October, when the fierce summer heat in Qatar will begin to "cool" to an average of around 36 C.
Athletes on Friday are expected to start competing in a predicted temperature of around 41 C.
The Diamond League -opener will showcase many stars including not only -Farah, but also controversial US sprinter Justin Gatlin, Mohammed Aman and Asbel Kiprop, the men's current 800 and 1500 meters world champions , and America's 200 meters Olympic champion Allyson -Felix.
UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations envoy in South Sudan is stepping down fr om her post in July after leading the world body's efforts in the country for nearly three years, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Friday.
"The secretary-general's special representative for South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said today that she will be departing the country when she completes her three-year term in July," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Ms. Johnson made the announcement after having what she called a very constructive and good meeting with President Salva Kiir, during which they also discussed the new mandate for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) , passed in a Security Council resolution earlier this week."
The Security Council on Tuesday extended and revised its UNMISS mandate until Nov. 30, giving priority to the task of protecting civilians and addressing the security, humanitarian and political crisis that has gripped this youngest nation of the world for the past six months.
Political infighting between President Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar turned into a full-fledged conflict in mid- December that has uprooted over one million people, including 75, 000 and 80,000 civilians who have sought safety at UNMISS bases around the country for months since the violence began.
Johnson, a Norwegian national , was born in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. She speaks Norwegian, English and Swahili, and has a working knowledge of French and German. On July 8, 2011, Johnson was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his special representative for South Sudan.
Manager looks to future after team's second league crown in three years
Manchester City will not rest on its laurels after finishing on top of the Premier League table for the second time in three years, manager Manuel Pellegrini said.
Sunday's 2-0 victory over West Ham United ensured City finished two points clear of second-place Liverpool and meant there was no repeat of the drama surrounding its first Premier League title in 2012.
Pellegrini , who is from Chile, also became the first non-European manager to win the biggest prize in English soccer.
It is a matter of some pride to the patriotic 60-year-old, although his main focus, starting this week, will be ensuring City does not repeat its form of two years ago and follow a championship-winning campaign with a weak title defense.
"Big teams cannot be satisfied with one title," he said. "It's very important. Celebrate today (Sunday), tomorrow and Tuesday start working for next season , because this club and players deserve more titles.
"Now we have won the title, we are going to have a balanced review of the whole year: the positive things, the negative things, wh ere we can improve our squad. We must continue thinking as a big team.
"It was a beautiful, great season, but we always need to continue winning, continue improving and , of course, we are going to start working as soon as possible to be the strongest team next year."
Despite the looming threat of Financial Fair Play sanctions from UEFA, the new champion's financial clout means it is capable of becoming the dominant force in English soccer over the coming seasons.
To that end, Pellegrini and his entire staff and squad were.
Farah , speaking in Doha where he will compete in the 3,000 meters at the 2015 -Diamond League opener on Friday, said he supported any idea that would make athletics more "exciting."
"A night marathon which is proven is better for us in terms of climate ... why not?" the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 -meters gold medalist told a news conference.
"I think sometimes I look at athletics and how do we make it exciting? It can be exciting if we work together.
"All the time you see football on TV. It's important that we give back something to the sport and to build athletics."
A night-time marathon was one of the proposals in Qatar's successful bid to host the 2019 event.
The plan is for the runners to compete on a specially lit course along Doha's waterfront, the Corniche.
Farah is widely expected to make the switch in distances to marathon running, although he will first defend his Olympic titles in Rio next year.
The 32-year-old finished eighth in his first marathon , in London, last year. Despite his placing he still broke the English record, finishing in 2 hours 8 minutes and 21 seconds.
He was speaking after Dahlan al-Hamad, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) vice-president who is a Qatari, confirmed that Doha was still planning to press ahead with a night-time race.
He said athletics needed "-innovation" and hoped the event would be "one of the best" of the championships.
"Innovation is something that we need," he said. "When we proposed the night marathon, we did not propose is just because we sat on the table and said 'OK.' We have practiced it and made a test for it."
Doha would not be the first athletics venue to host a -marathon run at night.
In 1964 the Olympic -marathon in Rome finished in the dark , with a course lit by torches. The winner, Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila, ran barefoot.
The 2019 championships will be held in late September and early October, when the fierce summer heat in Qatar will begin to "cool" to an average of around 36 C.
Athletes on Friday are expected to start competing in a predicted temperature of around 41 C.
The Diamond League -opener will showcase many stars including not only -Farah, but also controversial US sprinter Justin Gatlin, Mohammed Aman and Asbel Kiprop, the men's current 800 and 1500 meters world champions , and America's 200 meters Olympic champion Allyson -Felix.
UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations envoy in South Sudan is stepping down fr om her post in July after leading the world body's efforts in the country for nearly three years, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Friday.
"The secretary-general's special representative for South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said today that she will be departing the country when she completes her three-year term in July," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Ms. Johnson made the announcement after having what she called a very constructive and good meeting with President Salva Kiir, during which they also discussed the new mandate for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) , passed in a Security Council resolution earlier this week."
The Security Council on Tuesday extended and revised its UNMISS mandate until Nov. 30, giving priority to the task of protecting civilians and addressing the security, humanitarian and political crisis that has gripped this youngest nation of the world for the past six months.
Political infighting between President Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar turned into a full-fledged conflict in mid- December that has uprooted over one million people, including 75, 000 and 80,000 civilians who have sought safety at UNMISS bases around the country for months since the violence began.
Johnson, a Norwegian national , was born in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. She speaks Norwegian, English and Swahili, and has a working knowledge of French and German. On July 8, 2011, Johnson was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his special representative for South Sudan.
Manager looks to future after team's second league crown in three years
Manchester City will not rest on its laurels after finishing on top of the Premier League table for the second time in three years, manager Manuel Pellegrini said.
Sunday's 2-0 victory over West Ham United ensured City finished two points clear of second-place Liverpool and meant there was no repeat of the drama surrounding its first Premier League title in 2012.
Pellegrini , who is from Chile, also became the first non-European manager to win the biggest prize in English soccer.
It is a matter of some pride to the patriotic 60-year-old, although his main focus, starting this week, will be ensuring City does not repeat its form of two years ago and follow a championship-winning campaign with a weak title defense.
"Big teams cannot be satisfied with one title," he said. "It's very important. Celebrate today (Sunday), tomorrow and Tuesday start working for next season , because this club and players deserve more titles.
"Now we have won the title, we are going to have a balanced review of the whole year: the positive things, the negative things, wh ere we can improve our squad. We must continue thinking as a big team.
"It was a beautiful, great season, but we always need to continue winning, continue improving and , of course, we are going to start working as soon as possible to be the strongest team next year."
Despite the looming threat of Financial Fair Play sanctions from UEFA, the new champion's financial clout means it is capable of becoming the dominant force in English soccer over the coming seasons.
To that end, Pellegrini and his entire staff and squad were.