Portland, Birmingham Awarded IAAF Indoor Championships
(ATR) Portland and Birmingham were the big winners at this week's IAAF council meeting in Monaco.
21 Apr 2001: Norwich Union Athletics UK National Final at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Mandatory Credit: Mike Finn-Kelcey/ALLSPORT
Portland and Birmingham was the big winners at this week's International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) council meeting in Monaco.
The two cities were awarded the 2016 and 2018 World Indoor Championships.
Portland will build an indoor track at the city's convention center. Birmingham expects to complete renovations on its National Indoor Arena by early next year.
It will mark the first time the United States has hosted a major track championship since Indianapolis hosted the indoors in 1987. Birmingham hosted the event in 2003.
In another big win for the UK, Cardiff received the 2016 World Half-Marathon Championships. Add that to the fact thatLondon has already been confirmed as host for the 2017 IAAF and IPC World Championships and Conwy will host the World Mountain Running Championships in 2015.
"This is a fantastic day for British athletics and represents the best possible outcome," said UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos to The Guardian. "To have secured world championships in 2015, '16, '17, and '18 represents a golden four-year period for athletics."
Written by Nick Devlin
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