What do the most important athletic events held in recent years have in common? All the events were held on surfaces made and installed by Mondo. Even at the World Championships in Moscow, athletes competed on Mondotrack.
After Daegu 2011 and London 2012, athletics has been the great protagonist of the summer sports in 2013, with the World Championships in Athletics in Moscow. The fourteenth edition of the World Championships was an opportunity to reinforce the link between athletics and Mondo. "Mondo is proud of the longstanding relationship with the IAAF and is pleased to provide the track and sports equipment that allow the greatest athletes in the world to give their best during the most important competition of their lives," said Federico Stroppiana, Vice President, Strategic Development, Group Mondo. At Moscow in 2013, the Italian company has provided the track for the competitions, two tracks for training, a track for the warm-up area and all sports equipment.
The track competition inspired by the Luzhniki Stadium has a blue Mondotrack surface, more or less intense depending on the area. "Originally it was to have been red, but at the request of the Russian Federation of athletics and with the approval of the International Federation, it was decided to change color," recalls Fausto Barbera, Export Division of Mondo Sports & Flooring. Large in size, more than 10,000 square meters if we consider not only the oval, but also areas for the disciplines of throwing and long jumps, the track has been classified IAAF Class 1, the top of the classifications for outdoor tracks; necessary condition to host a high-level event like the World Athletics Championships. In addition to the main track (eight-lane, 400 m), Mondo has installed two more, for training and warm-up area, positioned near the stadium, also Mondotrack, but red. Another 80 m in sprint lanes was added under one of the main grandstands, to allow athletes to run sprints before the race.
To earn the title of Class 1, and to be certified for the World Championships, the track had to prove that it had the precise slope characteristics, flatness and uniformity. Fundamental for the achievement of the certification by the IAAF was the preparation of the subsurface on which was laid the Mondo track. "The biggest challenge has involved the installation of the track, as the preparation of the foundation on which to place it. The stadium in Moscow is very old, it was built to host the 1980 Olympics, and although over the years has undergone modernization, the background bore the marks of the passing years. When pre-installation excavations represent a very critical moment. Once put in place the foundation, the installation went without problems following the standard procedure, "remembers Barbera.
In addition to the slopes, Mondo has also supplied sports equipment customized to the competition area and most of the areas of training. The tools will remain on the ski training, while those for the competition will be allocated from the local dealer of Mondo to another stage. Since this is a facility in use almost exclusively soccer, in fact, it was not possible to leave permanently the equipment installed in the plant. In addition to traditional equipment for athletics, Mondo presented in Moscow a novelty, a radio-controlled retriever. ""This is an radio controlled car, about a meter long and half a meter wide; an entirely new model, which had never been used and which serves to bring back into the drop zone the javelin, hammer and disc. A ride is a commissioner by remote control. For the World Championships its speed was limited to 60 km / h, but without limitation can reach 130 km / h, "says Barbera.
The World Championships in Athletics in Moscow confirmed Jamaican athletes as the best sprinters in the world, and the excellent performance of the other athletes of the team Caribbean. Only Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was able to match the success of his compatriot: the Jamaican athlete has dominated the final of the 100 meters with a time of 10.71 and won the 200 m running in 22:17. Even his third gold came from the 4x100 relay, with the extraordinary time of 41.29. To realize the Jamaican dominance in the speed disciplines, just think that four of the top five athletes in the final of the 100 m men and three of the first four in the 200 m come from the Caribbean island. In the other speed events, predictions for the respected American LaShawan Merrit in the 400 m (43.74, fastest time seasonal) and the Czech Zucana Hejnová in the 400 hurdles (52.83, fastest time seasonal); in the 110 hurdles, success for the American David Oliver, who raced in 13 "net, best time of the year of this specialty; while in the 400 m women, the British Christine Ohuruogu won with a time of 49.41 (new national record), a whisker ahead of the favorite Amantle Montsho. Rather surprisingly the gold won by Jehue Gorno in the 400 hurdles; the athlete from Trinidad and Tobago ran in 47.69, achieving the national record and the best performance of the season. Spectacular finals of the 4x400 relay races: in the male, the United States won with the best time of the year (2'58.71), while in the female the Russian team managed to get the better of the only American in the final, closing with the fastest time of the season, 3'20.19. In the specialties of the bottom and middle distance, the great protagonist was Mo Farah, who has not lived up to expectations. The Briton has won the gold medal in both the 10,000 m, running in 27:21.71 (his best time seasonal), both in the 5000 m, with a time of 13:26.98. Among other achievements of Moscow in 2013, stand out as the athlete's home Elena Isinbaeva, who won his third world title jumping pole 4.89 m; the return to the success of the French Teddy Tamgho in the triple jump, with 18.04 m; the great test of Ukrainian Bohdan Bondarenko, who won gold in the high jump setting a championship record (2.41 m).