The World’s governing body of track and field athletics, World Athletics, announced on Friday that the Japanese capital of Tokyo will host the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

The decision was announced on the second day of the 228th World Athletics Council Meeting, hosted by the US city of Oregon.

"The 2025 World Athletics Championships will see the sport’s biggest stars return to Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, venue for last year’s Olympic Games, in the year that the Japanese Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) celebrates its centenary year," the press office of World Athletics said in a statement.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said commenting on the decision: "Within an extremely strong field of candidates to host the World Athletics Championships 2025, Tokyo offered a compelling bid."

"I hope this will be a shining light for Japan as they celebrate 100 years of the Japanese Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) in 2025, by bringing world-class athletics back to the people in Tokyo," the statement from World Athletics quoted Coe as saying.

Mitsugi Ogata, the head of the Japanese Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF), said in turn that: "We are immensely proud that World Athletics has demonstrated its confidence and trust in Japan to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships."

"Together with World Athletics as one team, we will capitalize on this opportunity to showcase the best possible global event for growing our sport to a higher level," he added.

The Council of World Athletics also decided on Friday that "the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships will be held in Medulin and Pula in Croatia and the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships will be held in Tallahassee, Florida.".

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