IAAF chooses Berlin for World Championships in 2009

“The World Championships in Athletics 2009 will be held in Berlin.” A few minutes past 6 pm the President of the International Athletics Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Lamine Diack, announced the decision in Helsinki. The Berlin Delegation, led by the minister of interior Otto Schily and Berlin’s governing mayor Klaus Wowereit started cheering. Valencia and Split were competitors, but Berlin has had the strongest bid and additionally showed the by far best presentation before the decision. The provisional dates for the 12th World Championships in Athletics are 15th to 23rd August 2009 in Berlin’s new Olympic Stadium. “I am very happy and excited about this decision by the IAAF since Berlin is my hometown. I really hope to be able to see the championships,” Uta said after the decision.

A clear majority of the 26 Council members were voting in the first ballot for Berlin. Unofficially it was said that there were 24 votes for Berlin, but officially the IAAF did not tell any number. “We are very proud und happy that we got the WCA. It is an honor for the city of Berlin, and I am sure we will have a great atmosphere,” announced governing mayor Klaus Wowereit, while the minister of interior Otto Schily said: “This is a big success for Germany.”

Concerning world-wide importance the sport spectacle which is third only to Olympic Games and World Championships in football. For Berlin the rating of the World Championships in Athletics will be even higher than for the Football World Cup. 2006 there will be five WC games played in Berlin. But of course it will known as the Championships in Germany. That is different with the WCA because for nine days Berlin will be in the world-wide focus—‘A priceless advertising.’

Berlin finally achieved its goal in the third approach. 1989 the city had failed with the application for the WCA 1991 because of Tokyo. Two and a half years ago Berlin applied and was the favorite before the poll for the WCA 2005. But surprisingly Helsinki came out as a winner in April 2002.

Now however Helsinki was a good omen for the citizens of Berlin. No other candidate was so well represented in Finland. Minister of the Interior Schily was the only representative of a federal state government of the three candidates. The governing mayor Klaus Wowereit, the Senator Klaus Böger, the designated president of Berlin’s organizing committee Werner Gegenbauer, the president of the German Athletics Federation (DLV) Clemens Prokop as well as the Olympic Champion Heike Drechsler participated in the presentation.

And as a surprise guest Frank Fredericks appeared in Helsinki. That was a clever move, because the 37 year old is very popular in IAAF circles. He belongs to the athlete commission of the Federation and is an IOC member. The sprinter from Namibia, who terminated his long career this year additionally has close connections to Berlin. “Berlin had a strong application, therefore I gladly supported it,” Fredericks said.

Berlin had made the first presentation before the poll, followed by Valencia and Split. During the 30 minute long representation for the IAAF Council in Helsinki Berlin showed the strongest points of the bid: the recently reconstructed Olympic Stadium, the long athletics tradition in Berlin as well as the very good infrastructure. In addition the German capital was introduced as an international metropolis. And at the end the Council members received small Berlin Bears. The presentation was presented by Canadian Charmaine Crooks, a former 800 meter runner, who at the 1996 Olympics carried the Canadian flag. Crooks is a well-known face for the IAAF members as she annually presents the World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo, the headquarter city of the IAAF.

But also the assignment of the governing mayor Klaus Wowereit and the long lasting president of chamber of industry and commerce, Werner Gegenbauer, in the last years had a positive influence on the decision. The two did not omit an opportunity to convince the IAAF of the large interest of Berlin. The fact that the allegedly sharpest rival, Valencia, not even came with the governing mayor to Helsinki had already shown how Spain estimated their chances against Berlin.

11/25/09

Ancient and Still Vibrant: the Marathon Turns 2500 Years Old

Next year Greece will celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the marathon by running the Athens Classic Marathon on the very same historic course that we all read about as children. How did we end up with the marathon as we know it today?

05/14/09

KIMbia’s Athletic Hopefuls Take to the Roads

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04/04/09

April: The Biggest Marathon Month of the Year!

Take The Magic Step® previews the biggest and best marathons being held around the world during the next four weeks.

04/18/08

Kenyan Runners and the Post-Election Violence

This article was written by Take The Magic Step® team member Scott Douglas, a runner since 1979 and writer on the sport for nearly as long.

12/29/07

A Look Back, A Look Ahead

With a world record in the marathon, exciting world championships on the track, roads and grass, and the conclusion of the first World Marathon Majors, 2007 was a great year to be a fan of distance running.

11/13/07

Marathon Organizers Meet in Marathon: Returning to Roots, Focusing on Future

What better place than Marathon, Greece for marathon organizers from around the world to match minds?

05/28/07

AIMS Celebrates a Quarter-Century of Running History

Twenty-five years ago, big running events were increasingly being established all over the world. At the time, the U.S. and England were a few steps ahead of other countries in putting on mass events

04/26/07

World Marathon Majors Becoming a Formula 1 of Running

Since it was launched last year, the World Marathon Majors series has added even more attraction to five of the greatest marathons in the world: Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.

12/25/06

Superb Success for Charity Running in London and Chicago

Two of the world’s greatest marathon events recently announced the amounts raised for charity during their races in 2006. In London and Chicago, $90 million were collected for charities.

01/27/06

The Formula 1 of Road Running

The BAA Boston Marathon, Flora London Marathon, real,- Berlin-Marathon, LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon have officially launched the World Marathon Majors (WMM) on Monday.

01/24/06

World’s Five Premier Marathons Unite to Form “World Marathon Majors”

The world’s five premier international marathons—the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin-Marathon, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon—have joined forces to collectively present the top echelon in the sport of marathon running.

12/19/05

Big Five: Joining Forces

The biggest and most spectacular marathon races have merged together and founded the Big Five. The BAA Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin Marathon, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon form this ,Formula 1’ of road running.

08/15/05

Big Five: Greatest city marathons cooperate

The most important city marathon races have merged to the Big Five. This was announced by the race directors during the World Championships in athletics in Helsinki.

12/05/04

IAAF chooses Berlin for World Championships in 2009

“The World Championships in Athletics 2009 will be held in Berlin.” A few minutes past 6 pm the President of the International Athletics Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Lamine Diack, announced the decision in Helsinki.

11/14/04

Cross-Country or the Soul of Long Distance Running

Cross-Country has always had a particular significance in British athletics. Though the trend for marathons and other road races is booming here as elsewhere, the increase is not so noticeable in cross-country running and racing.

10/31/04

Johnny Kelley – a Boston running legend died

Johnny Kelley was the legend of the Boston Marathon. 61 times he had run the classical race from Hopkinton to Boston, winning it twice in 1935 and 1945.

08/27/04

Spiridon Louis’ grandson talks about his grandfather

108 years ago Spiridon Louis became a national hero in Greek by winning the marathon in the Olympic Games. A lot of stories were written about his race from Marathon to Athens which then covered a distance of 40 kilometers.