Beijing athletics worlds wins wide praise

The world athletics championships, the first major sport event held in China since Beijing was awarded the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, has drawn wide praise from the sports community.

"I'm delighted. China staged a wonderful championships and it's been sensational," Sebastian Coe, the new world athletics chief, said on the closing day of the worlds.

"I left the stadium last night with people who have been to many championships before saying: Arguably the best world championships ever! Great crowd, full stadium, passionate and noisy people, in-form athletes that are competing at the highest level," added the two-time Olympic 1,500-meter champion and chief organizer of the 2012 London Olympics.

The 58-year-old Briton defeated Ukraine's pole vault legend Sergey Bubka 115-92 in a vote held at the IAAF Congress in Beijing last Wednesday to become the new president.

"The athletes are always a good judge. They are reporting that they have been looked after extremely well. Everybody is happy, it's a great, great championships," he added.

The nine-day event held in the National Stadium known as the "Bird's Nest" has witnessed full stands in most of the competition sessions especially during the evening ones, with jubilant spectators cheering and applauding.

After the men's high jump qualification on Friday morning Eike Onnen of Germany was deeply impressed with enthusiasm in the stadium.

"Being here in Beijing feels like a comeback to me because I had less good years before. Meeting old athlete friends again is super, really feels great. This stadium is amazing and there are so many spectators here already in the morning," Onnen said.

Onnen's opinion was shared by Gennaro Bozza, a journalist from La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

"The world championships in Beijing has been nearly prefect. It is much better than previous editions," he said.

"The Beijing Olympic Games was more than perfect. Even the London Games four years later could not match it. Beijing's delivery of world top-level events has already been proven."

"It is no doubt that the 2022 Winter Olympics Games will be the best ever in terms of organization and preparation."

"Beijing has full support from the government as well as the Chinese people, this is an advantage that no other country can catch up with," he added.

According to Gao Zhidan, executive chairman of the Organizing Committee for Beijing Worlds, 4,300 journalists covered the biennial event with 715 from abroad.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach also expressed confidence in the 2022 Winter Games.

"It has been a great pleasure to be back with here in Beijing just four weeks after the election of Beijing as the host city for the Winter Olympics in 2022," said Bach when he attended a Rio 2016 licensed products promotion event in a hotel close to the stadium on Sunday.

"I would like to congratulate all Chinese people again on this great victory.

"With this Winter Olympics in 2022, Beijing and China will write history because Beijing will be the first city in the long history of the Olympic Games which will organize the Olympic Summer Games and the Olympic Winter Games.

"The IOC is very, very confident that in six and a half years from now we can celebrate together a brilliant Olympics in China."

"With the great commitment from President Xi Jinping, his government and all the Chinese people, there is no doubt that China will surprise the world once more," Bach added. Endi