Havana, August 15 (JIT) - Lima, the Peruvian capital, will resume the organization of the 2024 World U-20 Athletics Championships, it was announced at the close of the 231st session of the World Athletics Council (WA).
The Peruvian Athletics Federation had resigned from the event last April, due to the political instability prevailing in the country and the natural disasters that made it difficult to access the necessary funds.
At the recent Council meeting, the Peruvians reconsidered the decision in view of the improved conditions and the support of the country's current government.
After evaluating the proposal, the decision was made to hold the event in the Peruvian capital from August 26 to 31 next year, as planned.
The WA Council met for two days in the Hungarian capital, taking advantage of the call for the world championship that will open its curtains on August 19.
As part of the work carried out, the venues and dates of several universal competitions in the coming years were made official.
The second and third editions of the world road racing championship were awarded to the U.S. city of San Diego (2025) and Copenhagen (2026). The founding edition of the event will take place in Riga, Latvia, on October 1. From 2025 onwards, it will be held annually with a program that includes the half marathon, the mile and the five kilometers.
It was also reported that the Hayward Field stadium in the U.S. city of Eugene, venue of the 2022 Oregon World Championships, will once again host a universal event, the U-20 category for 2026. In addition, the Chinese city of Guangzhou was ratified as the host city for the next world relay event on May 10-11, 2025.
"We are grateful that so many great cities around the world are interested in hosting our events, and delighted with the quality of the candidates we have had to choose from," acknowledged Britain's Sebastian Coe, WA president since 2015.
Coe will run for the position again at the election congress to be held on Thursday and Friday this week in the Hungarian capital. The delegates of the member countries will also elect the four vice presidents and the 13 members of the Council.
The vice-presidents are Nawaf Bin Mohammed (Saudi Arabia), Raul Chapado (Spain), Geoff Gardner (Australia), Abby Hoffman (Canada), Antti Pihlakoski (Finland), Ximena Restrepo (Chile), Adille Sumariwalla (India) and Jackson Tuwei (Kenya).
The WA aims to achieve gender equality in its board by 2027 at the latest. That is why it is mandatory that a woman emerges from the upcoming election process as vice-president, and that at least 40% of the members of the Council be women.
The Cuban Athletics Federation, which will attend the world championship in Budapest with 21 representatives, will participate in the congress with the member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), María Caridad Colón, and the world record holder in high jump Javier Sotomayor.
