By Tom Degun

Olympic-stadium 1December 19 - London has today been announced as the host city of the 2017 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships.


The Championships will be held in July 2017 at the Olympic Stadium just a month before the same venue plays host to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships.

It means London will be the first city ever to host the two Championships side-by-side in a move that is certain to draw comparisons with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.

The awarding of the event comes after London staged what was described by IPC President Sir Philip Craven as "the best Paralympic Games ever" with the Paralympic athletics competition seeing an unprecedented 1,185,976 tickets sold.

Sir Philip London 2012Sir Philip Craven called London 2012 the best Paralympic Games ever

The Greater London Authority (GLA) will organise the 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships in partnership with the London Borough of Newham, UK Athletics, ParalympicsGB, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and the University of East London.

"This year London just staged the best spectacle of sport the world has seen," said Mayor of London and Legacy Company chairman Boris Johnson.

"By bringing the IPC Athletics World Championships to our wonderful Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park just a month before the World Athletics Championships, the capital is poised to recreate the magic of 2012.

"London's Paralympic Games were the first ever to sell out and these Championships provide a perfect chance to build on that enthusiasm for disabled sport, bringing back the world's greatest Paralympians to the Olympic Stadium, and at the same time providing a major economic boost to the capital."
 
Jonnie PeacockSprint star Jonnie Peacock, who was one of the stars of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, is likely to compete at the 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships

Lyon in France will host the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships next year but the 2015 edition of the event has not yet been awarded.

However, the Qatari capital Doha, who put in a joint bid for the 2015 and 2017 Championships, now look clear favourites to get the 2015 Championships.

Agreements for the event are still being tied up and the officially announcement is expected to be made early next year.

"The London 2012 Paralympic Games were some of the best we've ever seen, and we cannot wait to see Great Britain embrace the Paralympic Movement once again with open arms," said IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez.

"The bar has been set high for the 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships and we are eager to see the worldwide media attention they attract."

At the London 2012 Paralympics, 1,134 athletes took part in track and field events and set 102 world and 139 Paralympic records.

Of the 141 countries that participated in athletics, 75 won at least one medal.

The Paralympic athletics competition also drew sold-out crowds of 80,000 for every session and attracted more than a billion cumulated television viewers worldwide.

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner, who is also the IPC Athletics Sport Technical Committee chairman and played a key role in the bid, has also welcomed the announcement.

"The UK's capital city has already demonstrated its ability to provide an excellent experience for athletes and spectators alike," he said.

"London 2017 will bring record crowds for an IPC World Championships, creating an ideal backdrop for athletes to break records, further raising the profile of sport for people with an impairment in the process."

The IPC Athletics World Championships are the largest single-sport competition for athletes with an impairment in the world and take place on a bi-annual basis.

Outside the Paralympics, they are the blue riband event of the Paralympic Movement.

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