Press Release : 4th March, 2002

Bord Fáilte are title Sponsor of the IAAF / Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships
Star Olympic and World Champions included in Huge International Field
Sonia O'Sullivan to run in Short Course Championship

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Bord Fáilte are the title sponsor of the 30th IAAF / Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships which will be held at the Leopardstown Racecourse on March 23rd – 24th, 2002.

Bord Fáilte is providing sponsorship funding of €900,000 from the International Sports Tourism Initiative, which brings to Ireland prestigious events with the capacity to highlight the merits of Ireland as a premier sports tourism destination.

The announcement was made by Mr. Eoin Ryan T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Mr. Niall Reddy, acting Chief Executive of Bord Fáilte, at a media conference hosted by Bord Fáilte in Dublin today.

Seventy plus nations will be represented at Leopardstown with 1,000 athletes male and female, junior and senior competing for the six individual and team World Championship titles on offer. The international field includes current world record holders, Olympic and World Championship medal winners including Mohammed Mourhit from Belgium, Paula Radcliffe from Great Britain, Gete Wami from Ethiopia and Kenyans Richard Limo and Charles Kamathi. There is significant international media interest and the Championships are being broadcast in 150 countries worldwide.

Mr. Eoin Ryan TD., Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation said, “Seeking to win major sporting events for Ireland such as the IAAF / Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships is a serious, carefully considered business strategy. It has the potential to earn millions of pounds for Irish Tourism and the Irish economy. I commend the Athletics Association of Ireland and Bord Fáilte on their vision and courage and I look forward to a wonderful weekend of cross-country action”.

Mr. Niall Reddy, acting Chief executive of Bord Fáilte said, “Bord Fáilte is delighted to be associated, as title sponsor, with the 30th IAAF Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships. It is because of the huge tourism potential and the invaluable international publicity which it will generate for Ireland abroad, that Bord Fáilte has gladly endorsed this event with significant sponsorship funding from the International Sports Tourism Initiative”.

The International Sports Tourism Initiative, co-ordinated by Bord Fáilte, was introduced in 2000, by Dr. James McDaid T.D., Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and has an annual of budget of €7.62 million to bring events of this nature to Ireland. Other events supported by the Initiative in 2002 include the Seve Trophy at Druids Glen in April, the FIA World Sportscar Championships at Mondello in August and the American Express World Championships at Mount Juliet in September but to name a few taking place this year.

Home interest in the IAAF / Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships, hosted by the Athletics Association of Ireland will centre on the hopes of the male and female Irish teams, captained by Peter Mathews and Anne Keenan Buckley respectively.

Sonia O'Sullivan who achieved the historic double gold World Championship win in the Long and Short Courses in Marrakech in 1998, will this year wear green for Ireland in the Short Course.

At the launch Mr. Nick Davis, President of Athletics Ireland said, “Athletics Ireland are privileged to have the opportunity of hosting the IAAF / Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships after a lapse of 23 years. Limerick in 1979 was a glorious occasion for Irish sport. With the world's greatest distance runners assembling in Leopardstown on the 23rd and 24th March another memorable day for Irish sport is assured. We particularly thank our title sponsors Bord Fáilte for their endorsement of the event as well as acknowledging the management of the racecourse for allowing us to use their world-class facilities”.

Ends.

Issued by John Corcoran, Slattery PR on Monday March 4th 2002.
Tel 01 6614055, Mobile: 086 608 6671, Email: jcorcoran@slatterypr.ie More information available from www.sportireland.ie and www.athleticsireland.ie/wxc/main.htm