Patrick K. Magyar, the 2014 edition of the IAAF Diamond League will begin on 9 May. What can we expect from the new season?
We will embark on the new season with a fantastic line-up in Doha. The meeting will be a spectacular prelude to what follows during the summer. When there are no Olympic Games or world championships, major one-day meetings take centre stage. The upcoming outdoor season will be filled with many athletics highlights and extraordinary performances.
According to the All Athletics ranking, the 14 meetings of the IAAF Diamond League series boasted the best line-ups last year. A very convincing sign of quality. Are you satisfied with the way the IAAF Diamond League has evolved over the course of the years?
The brand is meant to be a quality label. Being able to present the most top athletes is one of our goals. Other important features include an excellent organisation of all events, a great atmosphere at the arenas, and impressive TV images. We keep getting better in all respects. If you are looking for top athletics competitions, there is no better place to experience the sport at its best than at championships and at IAAF Diamond League meetings.
Are there areas in which there is still room for improvement after four seasons?
There is always room for improvement, of course. Every meeting has its own aspects to work on. While one event might concentrate on optimising the mise-en-scène of the competition to draw more visitors to the stadium, another will try to improve the TV production to help viewers follow the competition even more easily. As a series, our main issue is the calendar. In athletics, dates are not as perfectly calibrated as in football. Better dates for meetings and less calendar conflicts with the various championships would be extremely helpful.
You will step down from your position as Weltklasse Zürich Meeting Director, this year. What will be your future role in the IAAF Diamond League?
My term of office as Vice President of the IAAF Diamond League Board of Directors will end next year. We will see what the future brings after that.
And what do you have in store for Weltklasse Zürich 2014?
We will have an outstanding line-up, just as last year. And I hope that many Swiss athletes, who will have the opportunity to shine in front of their home crowd at the European Athletics Championships this year, will be part of the meeting.
13 May, 2014
