This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
Friday marked the opening day of the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, with US sprinter Christian Coleman making a strong statement in the 100 meters.
Coleman, the favorite to win the 100 meters title on Saturday, clocked 9.98 seconds in his heat, the quickest time of the first round at the Khalifa Stadium.
The 23-year-old American was cleared to compete in Doha earlier this month after an anti-doping case against him was withdrawn on a technicality.
However, Coleman was tight-lipped after his heat, refusing to take questions and only muttering a brief "Felt great."
Despite the controversy surrounding him, Coleman's performance on the track was impressive, leaving plenty of room for improvement.
But the biggest moment of the day belonged to long distance runners Braima Suncar Dabo of Guinea-Bissau and Jonathan Busby of Aruba.
As the only men left on the track at the end of their 5,000m heat, Dabo came to the rescue of his struggling rival Busby, propping him up and leading him around the final 200 meters to the finish line.
The scene was reminiscent of Derek Redmond's famous hobbling finish at the 1992 Olympics, when the British 400m runner was helped over the line by his father.
With the crowd cheering them on, Busby eventually collapsed and was led away in a wheelchair, while Dabo's time of 18 minutes 10.87 seconds was still a personal best.
However, there was a sting in the tail for Busby, who was disqualified.
The first medals of the championships will be decided in the early hours of Saturday morning when the women's marathon gets underway, with competitors braving the furnace-like heat and humidity that envelops Doha during the daytime.
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe expressed confidence that marathon runners will be able to cope with temperatures forecast at around 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity of 80 percent.
Organisers have taken precautions, with larger than usual teams of paramedics on hand and an abundance of water stations populating the course on Doha's Corniche waterfront.
"The overwhelming thrust of this is the welfare of the athletes," Coe said.
However, France's world champion Yohann Diniz was infuriated by the fact that competitors in the race-walk event are being required to compete outside the climate-controlled Khalifa stadium.
"I am disgusted by the conditions," the 41-year-old world record holder said.
"They take us for idiots... I am extremely upset. If we were in the stadium we would have normal conditions, between 24-25 degrees, but outside they have placed us in a furnace, which is just not possible," Diniz added.
