Athletes from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Republic of Ireland and further afield are in the running for the Belfast International Athletics Meet at the Mary Peters Track on Wednesday 2nd July 2014.

Organised by Athletics Northern Ireland with support from Belfast City Council, the event follows on from the 2013 official opening event which followed a £3m refurbishment of the track as part of Belfast City Council’s £150m Investment Programme. It is hoped that the event will become a regular fixture in the athletics calendar for many years to come.

Among the athletes confirmed for the event is 2014 British Athletics Indoor 800m bronze medallist, Katie Kirk of Queen’s University Belfast AC. Katie has enjoyed a strong season of late, running a PB of 2:02.97 last weekend to achieve the Glasgow 2014 consideration standard. Athletics fans in Northern Ireland and further afield will no doubt be keen to see Katie compete against some of the World’s top runners on home soil.

General Secretary of Athletics Northern Ireland, John Allen, said: “This is a fantastic event for everyone involved and provides an opportunity to showcase one of the Country’s top athletics arenas. Taking place just three weeks ahead of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the Belfast International Athletics Meet will offer fans an opportunity see world class athletes compete at the home of Athletics in Northern Ireland ahead of the Games.

“The Mary Peters Track is a world class standard venue that is open to the whole athletics community, catering to all levels of the sport from schoolchildren and club athletes to those training to compete at an international level.” he added.

Following the re-opening of the track in 2013, Dame Mary Peters said she was delighted that the track named in her honour would continue to serve Belfast and Northern Ireland.

Ahead of the Belfast International Athletics Meet she acknowledged the importance of Belfast City Council’s continued support along with the work carried out by Athletics Northern Ireland stating “I am overjoyed that Belfast has a truly world-class facility that serves both current and future generations of athletes. The presence of a world class venue ensures a legacy of athletics development for the City for many years to come”.

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(Left to Right) Dame Mary Peters, John Allen of Athletics NI and athlete Katie Kirk help launch the 2014 Belfast International Athletics Meet. Following on from the international opening event held at the newly refurbished Mary Peters Track in 2013 the Belfast International Athletics Meet on Wednesday 2nd July will ensure a legacy of world class athletics in Belfast for years to come. To find out more visit www.athleticsni.org