<p><br />Ireland&rsquo;s 1983 world 5000m champion Eamonn Coghlan has very generously donated two important historic athletics items from his illustrious running career to the <strong>World Athletics Heritage Collection</strong>.</p>
<p>Despite a distinguished record in outdoor track races at 1500m and 5000m, which as well as his 1983 world title included victory at the 1981 IAAF World Cup of Athletics and two fourth places at the Olympic Games, Eamonn Coghlan is best known for his exploits on indoor tracks.</p>
<p>A seven-time winner of the Wanamaker Mile at New York&rsquo;s world-famous Millrose Games, Coghlan was nicknamed &lsquo;The Chairman of the Boards&rsquo; thanks to the tight banked wooden boarded track in Madison Square Garden, which hosted those memorable victories. During his indoor career, Coghlan won the 1979 European 1500m gold and set three world indoor bests for the mile. The last of these, run on 27 February 1983 in the Meadowland Arena, East Rutherford, became the first officially ratified world indoor mile record (3:49.78).<br /><br /></p>
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<p><br />Ahead of this weekend&rsquo;s 113th Millrose Games on 8 February, Coghlan has presented the World Athletics Heritage Collection with one of the Wanamaker Mile trophies which he received to commemorate his victories in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987.</p>
<p>Coghlan has also donated the light green spikes which he wore when setting the world indoor mile best (3:52.6) in San Diego on 17 February 1979, a spectacular performance which put Coghlan on the front cover of <em>Sports Illustrated</em> magazine.<br /><br /></p>
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Eamonn Coghlan on the cover of Sports Illustrated</div>
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<h3>A sport which has given us all so much</h3>
<p>&ldquo;I was a guest at the Heritage Mile Night in Monaco in November which brought together so many record breakers and champions. All of us old friends. So many reminiscences to recall and share,&rdquo; said Coghlan.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It struck me then how important it was that we treasure and honour the past of athletics, a sport which has given us all so much. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m really pleased to make this donation of one of my Wanamaker trophies and my record-breaking spikes to the World Athletics Heritage Collection. I hope when publicly displayed they help boost interest in running.&rdquo;<br /><br /></p>
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Eamonn Coghlan with the spikes he wore when setting a world indoor mile best of 3:52.6 in 1979</div>
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<p>Coghlan&rsquo;s Wanamaker Mile trophy and spikes will be publicly exhibited at a World Athletics Indoor Athletics Display which will open ahead of the next edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, which have been postponed to 2021.</p>
<h3>World Athletics Heritage Plaque to be unveiled at the Millrose Games</h3>
<p>On 21 November 2019, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe announced that the Millrose Games, which began in 1908 and is the world&rsquo;s oldest invitational indoor track and field meeting, had been awarded the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Heritage Plaque</a></strong></span>.</p>
<p>The unveiling ceremony for the plaque, which will include a video message from Coe, takes place on Saturday 8 February at this year&rsquo;s edition of the Millrose Games which since 2012 has been located at The Armory, Fort Washington Avenue, New York.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Turner for World Athletics</strong></p>

Ireland’s 1983 world 5000m champion Eamonn Coghlan has very generously donated two important historic athletics items from his illustrious running career to the World Athletics Heritage Collection.

Coghlan, ‘Chairman of the Boards’, donates Wanamaker Mile trophy and world record spikes to Heritage Collection

<p>As we continue our countdown to the start of the <strong>IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019</strong>, we reminisce about five special celebrations from previous editions.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Eamonn Coghlan</h3>
<p><strong>Helsinki, 1983</strong></p>
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Eamonn Coghlan on the way to winning the 5000m at the 1983 World Championships</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Has there has been a cheekier victory celebration in the 36-year history of the World Championships than that of men&rsquo;s 5000m winner Eamonn Coghlan clenching both his fists in triumph with 150m to go while placed in second?</p>
<p>In truth, the 30-year-old Irishman&rsquo;s outpouring of emotion was pure relief for an athlete who up until that point had consistently disappointed on the major championship stage.</p>
<p>Coghlan, a master indoor miler, trailed Dmitriy Dmitriyev by nearly 10 metres at the bell but slowly reeled in the Soviet athlete and moments before passing the leader let out his little moment of uncontrolled joy before sprinting away to an emphatic victory.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Robert Harting</h3>
<p><strong>Berlin, 2009</strong></p>
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Robert Harting, the 2009 world discus throw champion</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Robert Harting was justifiably elated to secure gold in front of his adoring home fans.</p>
<p>For the entire competition he had trailed Piotr Malachowski, who set a Polish record of 69.15m in round five, only for the muscular German to hurl the discus out to a PB of 69.43m in round six.</p>
<p>Cue one of the most bizarre celebrations seen in World Championships history, which involved Harting pretending to eat a microphone, ripping open his vest and tossing 'Berlino the Bear' on to his back. Utterly captivating.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Melaine Walker</h3>
<p><strong>Berlin, 2009</strong></p>
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2009 world 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Melaine Walker had just clocked the second fastest time in history en route to adding the world 400m hurdles title to her Olympic crown from the previous year, so probably deserved better than having her post-race celebration hijacked by Berlino the Bear.</p>
<p>Given a piggy-back ride by the event mascot, who then proceeded to sprint down the back straight, possibly wasn&rsquo;t the wisest idea as Berlino ran headlong into a hurdles cart, depositing the unfortunate Jamaican on her backside. Walker was thankfully uninjured, although, no doubt, a little embarrassed at the unfortunate post-race mishap.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Ezekiel Kemboi</h3>
<p><strong>Daegu, 2011</strong></p>
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Dance machine! Ezekiel Kemboi celebrates his steeplechase victory at the 2011 World Championships</div>
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<p>As much as Ezekiel Kemboi was a supreme steeplechase champion &ndash; he won four consecutive world titles from 2009 and 2015 and two Olympic golds &ndash; the mohawk-wearing Kenyan is as much remembered for his exuberant post-race dances.</p>
<p>We could pick any one of his World Championship triumphs for his celebratory craftmanship but we particularly like his 2011 version when after drifting out to lane seven (yes, lane seven) to cross the line in gold, he then busts a move in honour of the great Usain Bolt to light up the Daegu Stadium.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Abel Kirui</h3>
<p><strong>Daegu, 2011</strong></p>
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Abel Kirui celebrates his marathon victory at the 2011 World Championships</div>
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<p>Perhaps what marathon winner Abel Kirui lacked in pure artistic merit for his post-race dance can be best explained by the fact he&rsquo;d just completed a gruelling 42.2km in warm and humid conditions.</p>
<p>The Kenyan had enjoyed a perfect day, retaining his world marathon title, and doing so by a victory margin of almost two-and-a-half minutes.</p>
<p>After he crossed the line, Kirui said he suddenly had the feeling he wanted to dance, although as the ever-smiling athlete admitted: &ldquo;As you can see, I danced more with my arms because my legs were tired.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><br />Steve Landells for the IAAF</strong></p>

As we continue our countdown to the start of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, we reminisce about five very special celebrations from previous editions.

Coghlan, ‘Chairman of the Boards’, donates Wanamaker Mile trophy and world record spikes to Heritage Collection

Fab five: celebrations at the World Championships