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IAAF President Diack: “I wish we could do the WYC in Bressanone/Brixen again”
On Saturday evening the WYC Gala took place on the ski mountain Plose 2000 and hosted the highest members of the IAAF, the three Olympic champions Sergey Bubka, Sebastian Coe and Gabriella Dorio, the management of the LOC, sponsors and local political representatives. Guests were transported by cable car to the top of the mountain and could enjoy the spectacular scenery which includes the nearby Geisler mountain range which has recently been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. IAAF President Lamine Diack from Senegal was smitten by the picturesque and unforgettable evening  and admitted that: “I really enjoyed being here in this beautiful place and I wish we could do the WYC in Bressanone/Brixen again as it is a perfect place.” The three-course gourmet meal was graciously sponsored by the Marzola Family who heads the mountain's lift company. Music was provided by male music choir “Plose”. The evening concluded with fire works shedding a colorful light on the city of Bressanone/Brixen which  reflected the diversity of the athletes participating at this 6. WYC.

“This WYC was wonderful”
Organizing an event of this complexity always leaves room for improvement, but from the perspective of Phil Minshull: “the media facilities are a reflection of the WYC and they were great.” Phil is a  British free-lance journalist living in Spain who has reported from every athletics world championship since 1993. He works occasionally for the BBC and is a former correspondent of Reuters. “This WYC has been wonderful. The physical facilities provided by the Local Organizing Committee have been great and there were lots of stories to write about these young athletes. The only difference to regular WCs is in the numbers and in the fact that the winning athletes often have already been discovered and their stories written about.” Phil is a former high jumper and, as one of 140 journalists from 27 countries is reporting on the WYC directly from Bressanone/Brixen. A total of 50 working stations each have been set up in the media office as well as on the media stands which are also equipped with EPSOM screens. This information system provides journalists access to real-time information.  The LOC Media Team is comprised of approximately 30 people .

Transport: The biggest challenge still lies ahead
The biggest challenge for the WYC Transportation team is still to come. Head of Transportation Claudio Zorzi and his team are now faced with the logistics to departures after working relentlessly for two weeks to bring athletes, staff and supporters from all over the world to Bressanone/Brixen. Everything has been planned up to the smallest detail. A total of 60 small and large buses will take the departing guests to the airports of Bolzano/Bozen, Verona, Venice, Milan, Innsbruck and Munich. Zorzi feels optimistic that all will go according to plan. “Some teams have come forward with personal requests which definitely are outside our competence such as as the transportation of large equipment
including the poles of the pole vault. Teams also have to be flexible and understand that the pick-up might be a few minutes walking distance from their accommodation. Several teams also feel vulnerable traveling in a foreign country and we have to ensure them that we will escort them all the way to the airport of departure. It was clear from the beginning that transportation along with accommodation form the biggest challenges to this WYC. All signs point to the LOC being able to clear this last hurdle as well also due to the tireless dedication of countless volunteers.  

Gratitude from Myanmar
As the saying goes, a smile always returns. This could be felt throughout Bressanone/Brixen in the last few days. The members of the accreditation office were at the receiving end of this when a delegation from Myanmar presented them with a beautiful handmade wall-hanging as a gift from San Tun, the Vice President of the Athletic Federation of Myanmar. The country is still in the middle of a civil war and the guests wanted to express with this their gratitude for all the help they were offered.

Picture: Mayor Albert Pürgstaller (left), Lamine Diack (middle)  and Anna Riccardi (member of the IAAF Council) in front the of the Geisler mountain range (Photo: Südtirol 2009/Franco Coccagna)