Athletics announces 2014 Grand Prix dates

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“This announcement is a direct result of developments secured during the trial Grand Prix events in 2013 and shows the huge growth in athletics in a very short period of time."

IPC Athletics has announced the continuation of the IPC Athletics Grand Prix series which was launched this year and in 2014 will visit nine countries in four continents.

Starting in February with a three day meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Grand Prix series will move onto Beijing, China; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Arizona, USA; Nottwil, Switzerland; Grosseto, Italy; Berlin, Germany; and Tunis, Tunisia. The series will climax in late August with the IPC Athletics Grand Prix Finals which, like this year, will bring together the best performing athletes from around the world in Birmingham, Great Britain.

The 2014 calendar features two new Grand Prix events, in Nottwil and Tunis, as local organising committees improve their capacity to host high-level international para-athletics competitions and the sport expands into Africa.

Ed Warner, Chair of the IPC Athletics Sport Technical Committee said: “This announcement is a direct result of developments secured during the trial Grand Prix events in 2013 and shows the huge growth in athletics in a very short period of time.

“Last year’s World Championships in Lyon, France, raised expectations for numbers of athletes, participating countries, spectators and media interest. It was unprecedented but further confirms that para-athletics is on the up.

“By working closely with existing event organisers, we aim to improve standards across the board and, most importantly, provide a strong and structured competition pathway on the road to Rio 2016.”

The 2013 Grand Prix series saw a total of 1,037 athletes from 69 countries set a total of 10 world records as they prepared for the World Championships in July.

Lyon 2013 attracted over 1,000 athletes from more than 90 countries and nearly 150 journalists, photographers and broadcasters from 25 countries. The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea, Wales are expected to attract 600 athletes from 40 countries.

In developing the competition structure and pathway for athletes and National Paralympic Committees, IPC Athletics have also confirmed the World Championships for 2015 in Doha, Qatar, and 2017 in London, Great Britain.

The IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup has been announced for 2014 in association with the Virgin Money London Marathon, which in 2014 will include the first separate T51-T52 wheelchair race. Continuing until at least 2017, this takes the number of races at the event to 14 across different classifications and split evenly between men and women.

IPC Athletics Grand Prix 2014

22-25 February, Dubai, UAE, 6th Fazza International Athletics Competition - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

14-16 April, Beijing, China, the 2nd China Open Athletics Championships - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

24-26 April, Sao Paulo, Brazil, II Caixa Loterias Athletics Open Championships - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

9-11 May, Arizona, USA, Desert Challenge Games - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

16-18 May, Nottwil, Switzerland, ParAthletics - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

30 May-1 June, Grosseto, Italy, Italian Open Championships 2014 - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

16-18 June, Tunis, Tunisia, 8th Tunis International Meeting - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

20-22 June, Berlin, Germany, Berlin Open - 2014 IPC Athletics Grand Prix

25 August, Birmingham, Great Britain, IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final

IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup, regional and multi-sport calendar 2014

13 April, London, Great Britain, IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup

18-23 August, Swansea, Wales, IPC Athletics European Championships

23 July – 4 August, Glasgow, Scotland , Commonwealth Games

18-24 October, Incheon, Korea, 2014 Asian Para Games