Runner's & Triathlete's Web Athletics (TPR): 2009 Championship Venues Announced

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Birmingham, England, will host the 2009 World Half Marathon Championships, the IAAF announced today after its two-day Council meeting in London.

The 21.1 km event, the only global championship set aside solely for road running, returns to Great Britain for the third time. In 1992, Tyneside played host before returning in 2001 to Bristol. This year’s edition will take place in Rio de Janeiro in October.

The IAAF Council also selected Thesalloniki, Greece, to host for the track season-capping IAAF/VTB Bank World Athletics Final for 2009. Formerly the IAAF Grand Prix Final, the annual two-day season-ending gathering was renamed the World Athletics Final in 2003, and hosted by Monaco through 2006. Stuttgart’s three year run as host ends in September.

Bydgoszcz, Poland, host of this summer's World Junior Championships, also bid for the WAF, and plans to bid again for hosting rights in 2010.