Less than four weeks until the start of the world championships!

With less than four weeks to go until the start of the 13th IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea, there's a bit of a buzz in the city as the local organizing committee gets the community excited to welcome the world.

A few days ago, the city had a little countdown celebration at the Daegu Stadium marking 30 days to go until these championships start on August 27th, with a fashion show (left/photo courtesy Daegu 2011 Organizing Committee) featuring the uniforms that everyone from ticket takers, meet officials, and medal presentation participants will wear, along with an appearance by Sarbi, the official mascot, who has the difficult task of trying to top Berlino as the all-time best world track & field championships mascot.

Here is a promotional video produced by the local organizing committee of these championships--it's in Korean, but you get the idea:



paulmerca.blogspot.com will be in Daegu beginning on August 25th to provide daily coverage of the IAAF world championships, with a special emphasis on athletes with ties to the state of Washington.

For more information on the host city, and the local organizing committee, please visit daegu2011.org.