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ETHIOPIA’S EIGHT-TIMES WORLD CHAMPION Kenenisa Bekele could find himself racing on a future field of dreams at Saturday’s VisitScotland Great Edinburgh International, after scottishathletics confirmed they are set to bid to host the 2008 World Cross Country Championships.
The governing body - who will prepare the bid in conjunction with partnership organisations - hosted the 2003 SPAR European Championships at the same picturesque Holyrood Park, an event that was hailed as the “best in the event’s history” by the European Athletic Association (EAA).
Should scottishathletics be successful in bringing the event to Scotland it will be the first time since Bellahouston Park, Glasgow played host in 1978. The country is also credited as being the birthplace of the global championships, having hosted the first ever International Championships in Hamilton in 1903.
City of Edinburgh Council are set to meet on 26th January where they are anticipated to ratify the bid, then scottishathletics will seek the backing of UK Athletics on 31st January before a formal letter of intent is forwarded to the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) to host the prestigious annual championships.
Cllr. Ricky Henderson, Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Leisure, City of Edinburgh Council said: “Edinburgh has proved itself a safe pair of hands for the big sporting occasions and in hosting a World Championship event four years before the 2012 London Olympic Games, we hope that Edinburgh will keep the profile of the sport at the very highest level.”
Mark Hollinshead, Chair, scottishathletics said: “Almost three decades after the World Cross Country Championships were last held in Scotland, we are optimistic we can bring them back with a really strong bid. We hope that this summer, the IAAF will give its approval to Edinburgh and that scottishathletics and its funding partners can begin work on delivering the greatest championships ever in the event’s history.”
Source SAF
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