Pierce O'Callaghan, a respected international race walking judge, has been appointed by the IAAF as director of readiness for the upcoming World Championships in Doha. 

His role will include making sure key milestones between now and the event starting are implemented, to help and monitor general planning for the event to be held at the Khalifa International Stadium in the capital of Qatar, between 28 September and 6 October.

O'Callaghan, is not new to assignments of this kind. Former director of operations for the World Championship in London in 2017 and Sport Director at the first edition of the European Games in Baku. 

He is also helping LOC of Minsk with preparations for the European Games in June and LOC of Lima with their planning for the Pan American Games, due to start in July.

The 42 year-old former Irish walker has won as many as 16 National Champion walking titles in his Country and has obtained interesting results internationally

In 1996 in La Coruna (ESP) in the first edition of the European Race Walking Cup he arrived 40th in the 20km in 1:31:51

In 1997 in Turki (FIN) in the first edition of the U23 European Championships he was 15th in the 20km in 1:40:24

In 1998 in Budapest (HUN) in the seventeenth edition of the European Championships unfortunately had to abandon the race due to a slight injury

In 1999 in Deauville-Mezidon (FRA) in the nineteenth edition of the World Cup he was 57th in the 20km obtaining what is still today his personal best (1:30:19)

This time, then, was worth the entry standard for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games which remained his Olympic dream which he could not attend due to the fact that in 2000 he was particularly ill.

Then he abandoned his career as an athlete and prepared himself for that as a judge and sports director.

As a judge he immediately dedicated himself to race walking, obtaining in 2005 at Miskolc the inclusion in the European Athletics Panel and in 2006 the brilliant result that allowed him to be included in the IAAF Panel, where he is still today.

His first major competition at the IAAF level was the 2008 World Cup in Cheboksary exactly nine years after his first and last appearance.

The dream of Olympic participation, which vanished from the disease in 2000, came true eight years later in Beijing and continued with London and Rio de Janeiro.

Recently, his first participation in a major European events with the European Championships in Berlin 2018.

Congratulations to a great friend of the race walk family!