The International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) World Indoor Championships kicked off on Friday, March 9, in Olympic-hopeful Istanbul, Turkey, Today’s Zaman reports.
A record number of countries are participating in the event this year. Some 683 athletes from 172 countries are in Istanbul for the big event, the IAAF announced. The 2008 edition held in Valencia, Spain, saw the highest turnout in terms of nations attending.
Istanbul will compete with four cities that submitted bids – Madrid, Tokyo, Doha and Baku. In recent years, Turkey has hosted various major international tournaments, such as the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2010, the winter World University Games in 2011 and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour Championships in 2011.
