IAAF has appointed Canadian sprinter Bruny Surin, U.S. hurdler Allen Johnson and Ukraine multi-events exponent Natallia Dobrynska as Ambassadors to the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the championships will be held in the Polish city of Sopot from March 7 to March 9.
A statement by IAAF on Friday said that each of the trio, in addition to all their other accolades, had illustrious records at the World Indoor Championships.
It noted that Surin won 60m gold medals in 1993 and 1995 and Johnson won 60m hurdles titles in 1995, 2003 and 2004.
Dobrynska, it said, memorably won the pentathlon in 2012 with a world record total of 5,013 points; the first woman to break the 5,000 points barrier.
“I’m very grateful for this nomination. Anytime I can get involved to help better the sport that brought me so many great memories, it’s an honour,” it quotes Surin as saying.
Johnson on the other hand, said in the statement: “the World Indoor Championships were very important to my career.
“They demonstrated that I could compete with the best athletes in the world on one of the biggest stages in our sport.
“Being the IAAF Ambassador for Sopot 2014 is a great honour for me in one hand and huge responsibility in the other,” Dobrynska said in the statement.
“I will stand and cheer the heroes of the various nations in their historic moments. I will display the spirit of sports.”
It said the three ambassadors would be very visible during their time in Sopot.
IAAF said that among their activities, they would conduct interviews with local and international media.
The ambassadors would also provide their thoughts on the championships live via various social media platforms and be involved with the medal presentations.
