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The Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) will return to St Mary’s University, Twickenham as their base ahead of the London 2017 World Championships, following a successful camp ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.
London 2017, which will be hosted in the Olympic Stadium from 5th to 13th August, brings together the world’s leading athletics talent to compete in a range of Track and Field events.
St Mary’s will provide training facilities and catering to the team of 70 athletes and coaches, who will be staying in the nearby Lensbury Hotel.
The University has a proud history of hosting sports teams ahead of major championships. Ahead of London 2012, the Chinese team joined nine other nations at St Mary’s in their preparations for the Olympic Games, including Ireland and Australia, amongst others.
During Rugby World Cup 2015, the University was a joint Team Base with the Lensbury for champions New Zealand. The University also hosted Finalists Australia, and semi-finalists South Africa.
Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “It’s wonderful to have Team China returning to St Mary’s to use the University’s excellent sports facilities. Everything will be in place to support the athletes and coaches and I’m sure we’ll see world-class performances by Team China at London 2017.”
CAA Team Leader Mr Lin Zhiqiang said, “We were delighted to have the opportunity to return to St Mary’s after our successful training camp before London 2012. The facilities at the University are fantastic and we’re sure our athletes will be fully prepared for the championships.”
The athletes from CAA join nine athletes and alumni from St Mary’s who will be competing a range of events during the championships. Seven of who were Rio 2016 Olympians and Paralympians, including Sir Mo Farah, who will be looking to complete a historic quintuple-double of World and Olympic titles.