13 May 2015
Doha, 13 May 2015. In the lead up to this week’s ‘Diamond League’ meeting on Friday at Qatar Sports Club a number of high-profile athletes visited Aspire Academy on Wednesday morning to attend a training session of the track & field team and share their experience with the up and coming Qatari athletes.
“The boys are really talented, they already have a good shape for pole vault and I am sure they will improve over the next couple of years,” said Raphael Holzdeppe, World Champion of Moscow 2013. One of the secrets of his success? “Fun, because if you like what you are doing you are also willing to put more effort into it and hard work is the basis for being a successful athlete.”
The German has a lot of big events ahead of him. “Of course, it’s my goal to defend the title at this year’s World Championships in Beijing and since I won the bronze medal at the last Olympics I would be happy if the result would be a little bit better in Rio in 2016.” A goal that he might share with the Argentinian pole vaulter German Chiaraviglio who also visited Aspire that day. Holzdeppe also cherishes the great training opportunities Aspire Academy as an IAAF Accredited Training Center offers: “It’s really important to have places like this because they are perfect for athletes like us. You could not ask for more.”
Other student-athletes were fascinated by the knowledge that famous track and field athlete Kim Collins shared with them. For the former World Champion over 100m talking with the boys was also a rewarding experience: “We know that it is important for them to have role models at this age. We don’t take that for granted and try to help them with our experience as well as we can.”
His advice for becoming a world-class athlete is simple: “Be serious about it. A lot of people just talk, but the most successful ones are the ones that actually do what they are saying.” Fellow sprinter James Dasaolu, European Champion of Zurich 2014 added: “It’s also important to listen to your coaches, take care of your body and enjoy what you are doing.” A motto he might share with two other successful track and field stars who stopped by during the training session: Mo Farah, Olympic and European Champion over 5,000m and 10,000m and Aspire Academy graduate and Olympic bronze medalist Mutaz Essa Barshim.