Athletics:Ireland has beaten off competition from
France and Poland to host the 2009 European Cross Country Athletics
Championships, the European Athletics Council has confirmed.
The event will be held at the Santry Demesne course in north Dublin on December 13th, 2009.
Ireland has twice hosted the World Cross country championships, in 1979 and 2002, but this will be the first time the European equivalent is staged here.
The bid was headed up by the Chair of the Athletics Ireland High Performance Committee, Liam Hennessy, who spoke today of his delight at the decision.
"I am thrilled with the endorsement by European Athletics of our bid to host the Spar European Cross Country 2009. It's been an odyssey and I would like to thank all the coordinating team for their enthusiastic hard work but would especially thank Tom McCormack and Paddy Marley for their pivotal role in the bid process," said Hennessy.
"The willing support from the Irish Sports Council, RTE, Fingal County Council and Clonliffe Harriers was critical in the awarding of the event to Ireland. We now look forward to delivering a world-class event on the 13th December 2009.
Brendan Hackett, CEO of Athletics Ireland, said: "To be awarded the Championships is a tremendous honour for Athletics Ireland.
"This will not only benefit athletics throughout the country but will also boost Dublin and the country as a whole. This is now a great incentive for us to get teams together who will be contesting medals on home soil, especially with the likes of Fionnuala Britton and Mary Cullen already performing well on the international stage."