Haile Gebrselassie Backs London 2017 Bid

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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