By Tom Degun in London

Ed_Warner_head_and_shouldersSeptember 17 - UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner has revealed today that London are looking to host the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Athletics Championships if they are awarded the 2017 World Athletics Championships later this year.


London are currently locked in a two-horse race with Doha for the prestigious event with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) set to decide on where the 2017 competition is staged at their Council meeting in Monte Carlo on November 11.

It has long been suggested that London was looking to host the IPC Championships in 2017 if awarded the able-bodied Championships as Britain has delivered numerous successful world class disability events in recent years and Warner - who is also chairman of the IPC Athletics Sport Technical Committee (STC) - confirmed that UK Athletics have made an approach to the IPC about hosting both events together.

"UK Athletics have approached the IPC and we told them that if we are awarded the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships, we would also like to host the 2017 IPC World Athletics Championships in London," Warner told insidethegames.

"We received a letter back for the IPC President Sir Philip Craven that was very supportive of our plan of hosting the two events back-to-back which we were delighted to receive.

"We haven't yet considered any of the logistics such as whether the IPC event will be in the same stadium as the IAAF event but the competition is six years away so that is not a major issue at present.

"The important thing with the IPC Championships is that we have a full stadium and a well-supported event and we are very confident that would happen in London which is a city full of passionate athletics fans and passionate Paralympic sport fans."

Doha revealed yesterday that have approached the IPC about hosting the idea of hosting the event immediately afterward the IAAF event but the idea itself was actually first suggested by Warner shortly after he was appointed as the IPC Athletics STC chairman in May.

Warner also mooted the idea in January this year when he attended the 2011 IPC World Athletics Championships in Christchurch.

Both the IAAF and IPC are very supportive of the idea of hosting their blue-ribbon events back-to-back after the two signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this this year to further develop the sport of athletics both for able-bodied and disabled athletes.

The MoU - which was signed by IPC President Sir Philip and IAAF President Lamine Diack - included a clause that says: "The IAAF invite prospective Organising Committees to bid to host the IPC Athletics World Championships in conjunction with the IAAF World Championships."

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