07/10/2018 12:00 AM

As part of its ongoing preparations to support the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, Aspetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, held a lecture on Tuesday for healthcare professionals, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, sports scientists, coaches and researches on how to deliver the best medical and scientific services during the landmark competition.

The 2019 World Championships in Athletics are scheduled to take place from 28 September - 6 October 2019 at Khalifa International Stadium. Aspetar will be the official medical provider for more than 1500 athletes and 2000 team officials at all training and competition venues.

The IAAF Vice President and the Vice-Chairman and Director-General of the Local Organising Committee of the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, H.E. General Dahlan Al Hamad as well as Aspetar’s senior officials headed by Aspetar’s Director General and CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation, Mohammed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, and Dr. Abdulaziz Jaham Al Kuwari, Acting CEO of Aspetar, were in attendance.

In his welcoming remarks, Aspetar’s Al Kuwari said: "We are very honored to welcome H.E General Dahlan Al Hamad who spares no effort in providing his support to the 2019 World Championships in Athletics. We are very proud of our partnership and I believe this will be an exciting event for our team. We are especially encouraged by the prospect of using Aspetar`s literature and research on heat and sports to help support athletes to achieve their maximum performance and full potential.”

Meanwhile, H.E General Dahlan Al Hamad, said:

would like to thank all our friends at Aspetar for all their great work.  Aspetar is one of our main partners. When we were bidding for the championship, our main concern was heat. The studies presented by Aspetar in this domain provided good solutions and helped us win the bid. Aspetar is very important to us because it is an advanced medical institution and has considerable input in sports medicine and health.

Al Hamad added:

Being a Qatari citizen myself, I am very proud of Aspetar. It helps Qatar and the world. It has become a world reference in sports medicine. As IAAF Vice President, we need to reassure ourselves of the health of team officials and athletes, and we will benefit from Aspetar’s research and services.

The lecture was delivered by Dr. Juan-Manuel Alonso, Sports Medicine Physician at Aspetar and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the 2019 World Championships in Athletics. He discussed several topics including the scope and context of medical and scientific services delivered to the upcoming world competition and explained the importance of strategic thinking and planning for such mega events.

Alonso also discussed with the participants the most important health risks to athletes and described the key steps in dealing with them, including how to construct a public health risk analysis and risk mitigation plan throughout the Championships.

Following the lecture, Aspetar announced the opening of registration for its medical staff who will be volunteering to take part in medical services to the visiting sports delegations.

Aspetar’s ongoing collaboration with the Local Organising Committee of the 2019 World Championships in Athletics is another example of its commitment to helping athletes achieve their full potential during sports events hosted in Qatar.

By supporting such events, Aspetar is cementing its leading role in the treatment and prevention of injury to local, regional and international athletes across all sports. Aspetar’s experts have a wealth of experience in supporting athletes participating in major tournaments in Qatar, including the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship in 2015, the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships, and the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, and abroad.

About Aspetar:

Aspetar is a world leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, and the first of its kind in the Middle East. Since 2007, with a world expert team, the hospital has provided top-level comprehensive medical treatment to all athletes in a state-of-the-art facility that sets new standards internationally.

In 2009, Aspetar was accredited as a “FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence”. In 2013, Aspetar was adopted as a reference collaborator centre by the Gulf Countries Council (GCC) Health Ministers Council and “IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health” in 2014.

In 2015, Aspetar has been recognised as the “IHF Reference Centre for Athlete and Referee Health”. In the same year, the hospital also achieved the obtained on December 15 the Accreditation Canada International (ACI) “Platinum Level”.

Aspetar is a member–organisation of Aspire Zone Foundation, Qatar’s innovative sports and healthy lifestyle destination.