Berlin, Germany, will stage the 2018 European Para Athletics Championships, the sport’s global governing body IPC Athletics has announced. More than 600 athletes from 40 countries are set to compete at the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark.
The event will take place between 20-26 August 2018, shortly after the 2018 European Athletics Championships, which takes place in Berlin from 7-12 August 2018 as part of the multi-sport “2018 European Championships” co-hosted with Glasgow from 1-12 August. 
The 2018 European Para Athletics Championships will be organised by IPC Athletics, the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Germany and Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportband Berlin.
“We are very excited that the 2018 European Para Athletics Championships will be staged in the German capital, a city with an excellent track record for staging major athletics events” said Ryan Montgomery, the IPC’s Director of Summer Sports.
“The Championships will take place with roughly two years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and will be one of the biggest Para athletics events of the year.
“This venue has successfully staged Grand Prix events for the last four years and has a reputation for delivering fast times and long distances. We have seen a number of world and regional records broken in Berlin over the last few years, and I expect to see many more in 2018 as the performance level of Para athletes continues to increase.
“We look forward to work with NPC of Germany and the Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportband Berlin to deliver a hugely successful event.”
Friedhelm Julius Beucher, President of NPC Germany, said: “We are glad and proud that the German capital will host the next European Championships in 2018 – a competition that will take place exactly between the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“We are convinced that Berlin will deliver excellent Championships and we hope for a big attention, especially because this competition will begin just after the European Championships for athletes without disabilities. It is our wish that there are many spectators who will certainly be fascinated by Para sport. I am sure that we will have a highlight in Berlin.”
First held in Assen, the Netherlands, in 2003, the European Championships have taken place every two years since 2012. Four years ago, Stadskanaal, the Netherlands, played host before the event moved to Swansea, Great Britain in 2014 and then Grosseto, Italy in 2016. The 2018 Championships in Berlin will be the sixth edition.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Berlin to host this great event. For all of us, volunteers and staff, this for sure will be an extraordinary time,” said Klaas Brose, Director of Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportband Berlin.
 

The inaugural edition of the Asian Youth Athletic Championships will be hosted in Doha in 2015. The news, reported by the Gulf Times, was announced at the 78th council meeting of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) in Doha. 

Youth Athletics Championships are open to athletes aged 17 or under, unlike Junior Athletics Championships, which are open to participants aged 19 or younger.

“Long-term planning and grass-root level development should be our focus and we need to find ways to encourage the youth. That’s why we have decided to have an Asian Youth Athletic Championships next year,” AAA President General Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad told reporters at the close of the event on Sunday.

The dates of the event have yet to be determined but it is likely to be hosted in May or June, as the IAAF World Athletics Championships take place in Beijing from 22-30 August. “It would be held before the World Championships so as to give our athletes the incentive to qualify,” Dahlan said. 

The aim of the Asian Youth Athletics Championships is to boost the sport in the continent.

“Asia should change. We need to improve. We need to raise our level. The continent should be at the pinnacle of everything. We are working towards it, and it involves a lot of hard work and commitment. But we are confident we shall reach there," said Dahlan.

In addition to the leaders of AAA member federations, the meeting was attended by former pole vault world champion and IAAF Vice-President Sergei Bubka.

It was also announced that selection trials for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) would be held in the Thailand capital of Bangkok from 21-22 May. The YOG takes place in the Chinese city of Nanjing in August 2014.

The 2015 Asian Youth Athletics Championships event adds to Qatar’s growing programme of sports events. The Gulf nation will be hosting the World Men's Handball Championship in January and February 2015. The UCI Road World Championships is scheduled to take place in 2016, with a potential shift from September to October due to the climate.