President Diack says „au revoir“ at the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014

IAAF President Lamine Diack hailed the organisers of the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014 ahead of the start of the two-day competition on Saturday but also said that he had a note of regret at the traditional pre-event press conference on Friday (12).

“I feel like Morocco is my home but I feel sad that this is my last Continental Cup as president. We have two good candidates for the next edition in 2018, Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Ostrava (Czech Republic), if I am physically capable I will be at the next cup, but only as a spectator,” said president Diack, noting that he will stand down next summer from the role at the head of the sport's global governing body that he has occupied since 1999.

“The Continental Cup is very important to me. I have been involved in the Continental Cup, and its predecessor the World Cup, from the start. It’s an event in which Africa has had success in the past. I remember well the first event in 1977 so I feel very close to this event.”