From: RT AP story on World Cup award
-------------------- L.A. to Host 2006 T&F World Cup -------------------- By Associated Press September 19, 2002, 11:21 AM EDT MADRID, Spain -- The World Cup, track and field's biggest team event, will be held in Los Angeles in 2006, providing a boost for the sport in the United States. It will be the first time the event, held every four years, has been staged in the United States. The International Association of Athletics Federations, the sport's governing body, said Thursday the World Cup will take place at a new facility being built at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The announcement was made by IAAF president Lamine Diack and USA Track & Field chief executive Craig Masback on the eve of this year's World Cup in Madrid. In a change to the current two-day format, the 2006 event will take place over four days during the Labor Day weekend, with three days of competition and one day for an opening ceremony. Marion Jones, who's from Los Angeles, said she expects to compete in the event. Jones won an unprecedented five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is competing at the World Cup this week in Madrid. "Every time I go back to California, it's like I'm going home," Jones said. "To get the chance to go back to the place of my birth for a major championship will be one of the highlights of my career." Diack, the IAAF president since 1999, said it has been his priority to help promote the sport in the United States, where track and field has a low profile compared with the rest of the world. The sport's world championships have never been held in the United States. The World Cup will be the first major IAAF event in the United States since Boston hosted the 1992 World Cross Country Championships. The 2006 meet is expected to be the biggest international track and field event held in the United States -- other than the Olympics. "Having hosted two Olympics and numerous other world class meets, track and field has played an important part in our city's illustrious sports history," said David Simon, president of the L.A. Sports Council. "The 2006 World Cup will be the most significant track competition held here since the '84 Games, and we look forward to watching the world's best compete in our new stadium." A $130 million multi-venue facility, which includes a 30,000-seat track and field stadium, is expected to be completed next June. Copyright (c) 2002, The Associated Press -------------------- This article originally appeared at: http://www.newsday.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-run-world-cup-20060919sep19(0,4011466).story Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com
