Following last week’s Boston Bombings, Russian organisers of the Moscow marathon are embarking on the installation of metal detectors for spectators along the entire marathon course at the world athletics championships in August.
According to the recent FBI findings after last week Boston bombing, one of the ethnic Chechen brothers suspected of the attack visited Russia’s volatile North Caucasus, where militant groups are fighting to establish an Islamist state, last year.
Russian athletics chief Valentine Balakhnichyov laid emphasis on the issue of security as a major consign of the organisers in a wide range interview with Reuters.
“It definitely has given us an extra headache,” he said in reference to the blast that killed three people and injured 176 at the Boston Marathon.
“The security will certainly be reviewed after what happened in Boston. Airports, hotels, the transit system, places where you have lots of people, are always vulnerable.”
Balakhnichyov said the capital will have a ‘triple level of protection’ for the duration of the world athletic championships which is due to start August 10 and end August 18.
“The first level would be the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the police, then we have the city’s own security personnel, and, finally, the security in and around the stadium,” he said.
“Obviously the marathon requires extra protection, not only for the runners but also for spectators as well.”
“The only way to guarantee sufficient security for those coming to watch the races is to install metal detectors along the entire 42.195km (26.2mile) course,” Balajhnichyov said.
“At the same time we don’t want to make Moscow a ghost town. We must make sure that spectators, including foreign guests, are not scared away by overzealous policing.
“Luckily, the marathons are the only events held outside the Luzhniki sports complex. The rest, including race walking, will be held inside the complex,” he added.
“Initially, we wanted to make Luzhniki stadium an open zone, where people could just walk around, enjoy the atmosphere. Now, we’ll have to reconsider it and have metal detectors there as well.”
