The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

MOSCOW, Russia: When our plane made its descent into Moscow, I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.

There were a lot of buildings surrounded by water.

I’m here for the IAAF World Championships in athletics, Moscow 2013, which is taking place in the Russian capital until August 18. It’s the biggest ever International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) championship.

No fewer than 206 IAAF Member Federations are taking part.

The previous highest number of nations present at a World Championships was 200 at both Seville 1999 and Berlin 2009.

With a total of 1974 athletes having been entered, 1106 men and 868 women, the record of participants is also on course to be broken as the previously most attended championships in terms of athletes was Berlin 2009 with 1895.

I rested comfortably in the Best Western Vega Hotel, site of one of the residences for the more than 1,000 accredited media personnel from the countries participating.

We were bused around in a journey that was intended to take about 45 minutes, but in some cases, actually stretched into a hour or more, from the hotel to the Luzhniki Grand Sports complex, previously host of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games.

I wasn’t fortunate to have attended those games, but I’m told that much has changed since then.

The city of some 11 million people, home to more than 70 per cent of the billionaires in Russia, has changed quite a bit - all for the better, I would say.

Generally, I found the people on the streets were not so hospitable, but the hundreds of volunteers who are assisting the Games’ organising committee, are friendly.

And the majority of them speak English, which is an added plus.

While driving through the jammed-packed streets, there was an accident here or there as motorists tried to manoeuvre in the majority of the manual-driven vehicles.

I’ve never seen so many skyscrapers in one location.

Just about every building I came across there were a minimum of three floors. There are some so high that I almost sprained my neck trying to count how high they are.

The city is massive and so are the buildings, a lot of them apartment complexes for residents.

I guess the building code calls for these types of accommodations because nowhere that we’ve gone have I seen any single dwellings.

Although it is very modern looking, Moscow is still proud of its Communist history and at every major intersection or at any of the major landfalls, you can find statues of prominent people who have made their contribution to society.

Just in case you’re wondering, Moscow has an international flavour - there are branches of KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, Sub Way and even Starbucks.

Of course, there’s still the traditional sites for those who prefer a taste of the real culture of Russia.

All in all, as my pictures show, it’s been quite a learning experience travelling on the streets, albeit in a group rather than on my own.

For me, with so many people in this city, I felt the Luzhniki Stadium could have attracted more spectators to its stands.

I haven’t seen it full to its capacity. Not even on the opening night when Russian President Vladimir Putin made an appearance to officially open the championships.

Not even Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, whose image is plastered on many of the billboards, or Russia’s own beauty Elena Isinbeva, as they left their

marks on the track and the field in their respective events in the 100 metres and the pole vault, managed to fill the stadium.

Maybe people have too many things to do in the city.