ATHLETICS NEWS:THE INTERESTING decision at the IAAF council meeting in Monaco this weekend wasn't so much the awarding of the 2015 World Athletics Championships to Beijing – and thus back to the famous Bird's Nest – but rather the toughening of qualifying standards for the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, next August.

If fact, not only has the IAAF made the qualifying standards more difficult in several cases, they’ve also tightened up the qualifying period – which for most events effectively requires athletes to qualify next season, rather than carry over qualifying marks from this season, as has been the case for previous World Championships.

Among the events where the qualification bar has been raised is the men’s 1,500 metres, for which the A-standard is now 3:35.00 compared to 3:36.20 for the Berlin World Championships in 2009, and the men’s 10,000m, where the A-standard is a seriously quick 27:40.0, compared to 27:47.0 in 2009.

The men’s and women’s 100m A-standards are also tougher now, at 10.18 and 11.29 respectively (from 10.21 and 11.30), while the men’s A-standard in the marathon has been hardened by one minute to 2:17.00, which no Irish athlete has come close to in the last season.

There are a few exceptions where the standards are that bit easier from 2009, such as the women’s 5,000m, which has been softened by four seconds to 15:14.00.

The 2011 qualifying standards are also significant because they’re likely to be adopted for the 2012 Olympics in London, with perhaps a few minor modifications.

Beijing’s selection for the 2015 World Championships was inevitable given it was the sole candidate city after London withdrew its bid earlier this month because of uncertainty over the future of the 2012 Olympic Stadium.

Moscow will hold the 14th edition of the World Championships in 2013, but it now appears London will get the nod for 2017, depending, of course, on what happens with the Olympic stadium.

English Premiership clubs Tottenham and West Ham are the final bidders to take over the stadium after the Games: Tottenham’s application with American sports and entertainment giant AEG involves removing the track from the stadium, while West Ham’s joint bid with local borough Newham would keep it in place.

Also announced at the IAAF council meeting was the race walking judging panel for the London Olympics, and which will include Ireland’s Pierce O’Callaghan, who topped the class of 68 potential judges from all over the world.