TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Leon County leaders are in Oregon in an attempt to make the county the permanent home for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
The 2026 World Athletics U20 Champions are taking place in Eugene, Oregon and county leaders attended the event to “continue building support for Leon County’s bid to become the long-term home” of the competition, according to the county’s Facebook page.
Commission Chairman Christian Caban, County Administrator Vincent Long and Parks and Recreation Director Amanda Heidecker met with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and CEO Jon Ridgeon to talk about potentially hosting future competitions in Leon County.
Leaders shared on social media that they presented Coe and Ridgeon with a plaque to thank them for bringing the championship to Leon County.
More Tallahassee news:
County leaders say the World Athletics Cross Country Championship generated more than $6 million in economic impact and saw over 15,000 attendees in January.
Following the success of the event, Caban wrote a letter to the county commission, asking to initiate conversations to strengthen the relationship with World Athletics and “explore the path toward bringing the World Athletics Cross Country Championships back to Leon County on a recurring basis.”
In February, the commission discussed traveling to Poland in an attempt to secure Apalachee Regional Park as the permanent home for the competition.
“Now, we look forward to building on all of our efforts to successfully host the championships in 2029,” Leon County shared on social media.
The Cross Country Championships has been hosted in the U.S. multiple times, but it’s never been held in the same city here more than once.
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