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Around 2000 athletes from 200 countries and 1500 broadcasters and 2500 volunteers will arrive in Budapest up to one month before the Opening Ceremony.
With 100 days to go ahead of the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, CEO of World Athletics Jon Ridgeon has revealed the much-anticipated mascot in the newly-completed National Athletics Centre in the capital.
As reported by World Athletics, the reason why they chose the racka sheep draws back to more than 1100 years ago.
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The racka sheep arrived in Hungary with the settling Hungarians and has remained a faithful companion ever since. Sheep can be found all over the world, but the distinctive racka breed is only found where Hungarians live.
In particular, there were once many racka sheep in the area where the National Athletics Centre now stands and where, in exactly 100 days' time, the starting pistol will be fired for the biggest sporting event in Hungary's history.
Meanwhile, Ridgeon also presented the organisers with the official certification of the National Athletics Centre, formally declaring that it is ready to host the World Championships.
He noted that the race organisers have done exemplary well and lauded them for the effort to ensure everything is set before the D-Day.
"We have just completed what we call our ‘readiness site visit’. This is a big milestone as it means we are now running down the home straight. We are delighted with the progress.
The Organising Committee is a skilled and experienced team and they have created strong partnerships with key delivery stakeholders across Budapest and Hungary including transport, security, tourism, hotels, and many, many more,” he said, as quoted by World Athletics.
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He added that there are a few connections that need to be made and he expressed confidence towards the team delivering a world class event.
Ahead of the event, Ridgeon also noted that around 2000 athletes from 200 countries and 1500 broadcasters, and 2500 volunteers will arrive in Budapest up to one month before the Opening Ceremony.
On his part, the CEO of the organising committee in Budapest Balazs Nemeth added that so far, things are looking up and revealed that 160,000 tickets have been sold so far.
"100 days before the start of the World Championships, the Local Organising Committee has reached the home straight, meaning that all the plans are in place to show that Hungary is capable of hosting the world's third biggest sporting event to an outstanding standard," he said.
Elsewhere, Ádám Schmidt, the State Secretary and Government Commissioner for the World Athletics Championships also noted that they are looking forward to hosting a successful event.
Miklós Gyulai, President of the Hungarian Athletics Association confirmed that the biggest stars were in excellent form, so those who come out to cheer them on at the National Athletics Centre can expect to witness outstanding performances.
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The World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 will take place between 19 and 27 August at the brand-new National Athletics Centre. Road races will be held around the historic UNESCO World Heritage sites in Budapest
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