LONDON, October 10 2011: Haile Gebrselassie, the two time Olympic gold
medallist and four times World Champion, has today been unveiled as an
official bid ambassador and member of the Athlete Commission for London's
bid to host the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships.
The Ethiopian long distance runner will draw on his years of competing at
the top international level to provide valuable insight from his experiences
as an athlete in guiding London's bid to host the 2017 IAAF World Athletics
Championships.
Haile Gebrselassie said: "I have competed and trained in London for many
years and always had great support from the public and the athletics family
in the UK. I am planning to compete in London in 2012 and by being part of
the extended bid team hope to enable future Ethiopian athletes to have the
same great experiences in the Olympic stadium in front of a London crowd in
2017."
Ed Warner UKA Chairman said: "Haile is one of the greatest ever athletes and
has always spoken of how much he enjoys competing in London. To have him
backing London 2017 is a huge boost for us, but what is more essential is
the insight he can provide as part of the Athletes Commission. We have
always said our London 2017 bid would be athlete centred and with the input
of incredible athletes like Haile and under Denise Lewis' leadership the
Commission can ensure we deliver that commitment."
The London 2017 bid, which has been put together by UK Athletics, DCMS, the
Mayor of London, London & Partners and UK Sport, will be looking to secure
the votes of the 27 IAAF Council Members before the decision on who will
host the Championships is made on November 11th.
For more information, contact James McKeown at james.mckeown@pitch.co.uk
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