In preparation for the 2016 Aviles ITU Duathlon World Championships, the Spanish city hosted an official presentation for next year’s international event, which is slated for June 3-5. 

ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado was on site for the presentation, where she was joined by Aviles Mayor Mariví Monteserín, and Spanish Triathlon Federation President José Hidalgo.

“The Spanish National Championships have been held here in Aviles in preparation for next year’s World Championship race, which will be very helpful in hosting a successful event,” Casado said. “The course will be centered around the beautiful Niemeyer Centre, and that’s one of the values that we spread also in the IOC - the union of sport and culture.”

Monteserín thanked ITU for its support to host the next Duathlon World Championships in Aviles, saying: “Thank you for believing in the project and in our ability to host a Championship of this magnitude. I assure you that we will rise to the challenge. The city will be prepared for the occasion, as this great sporting event deserves. It is a city project which will involve all the institutions.

After the press conference, both Casado and Monteserín led the first meeting of the Organizing Committee of the 2016 World Duathlon Championship.

Race organisers have proposed holding the race around the city’s scenic Niemeyer Centre and the surrounding Ria de Aviles as acting as neuralgic axes. The World Championships is expected to attract an estimated 1,400 duathletes from 40 different countries.

Also in attendance at the presentation was Vicente Dominguez, Deputy Minister of Culture; Ana Hevia, Aviles’ councillor for Sports;  Santiago Rodriguez Vega, president of the Port Authority; Carlos Cuadros, the general director of Centro Niemeyer; Sharon Calderon, president of the Asturian Federation of Triathlon, and Jorge Garcia, the Spanish Federation’s Director of Competitions; among others.