IPC Athletics, the global governing body of para-athletics, has announced that Grosseto, Italy, will stage the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships.
Around 700 athletes from 40 countries are expected to compete at the Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium between 10-16 June, a venue that has staged an IPC Athletics Grand Prix meeting for the last two years.
The successful bid will mean that the event will take place less than three months before the start of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Xavier Gonzalez, the IPC's Chief Executive Officer, said: "It is testament to the hard work of FISPES, the Italian National Paralympic Committee and FIDAL that IPC Athletics has awarded the last major regional Championships ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games to the Italian city of Grosseto.
"The city has an excellent track record for staging para-sport events, as shown with hosting one leg of the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in 2013 and 2014, and we are hugely confident that this event will be a huge success.
"The 2012 European Championships provided the perfect stepping stone for many athletes in their preparations for London 2012 and a number went on to add Paralympic titles to their European crowns.
"This is yet another major addition to the rapidly expanding IPC Athletics calendar of events, helping to fulfil our objective of increasing the number of competition opportunities for leading athletes."
FISPES President Sandrino Porru said: "I am extremely happy. It's a dream come true to have a para-athletics European Championships in Italy, a first in our history.
"It's a huge pride for FISPES and the entire Italian Paralympic Movement to host an event of this importance.
"Grosseto 2016 will be also a chance for Italy to support the growth of para-athletics ahead of the Rio Games with the aim of bettering the feat achieved in London.
"This important outcome has been possible thanks to the joint commitment and hard work of FISPES, IPC Athletics, the Italian Paralympic Committee and FIDAL. To all of them, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation."
At the 2012 European Championships in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands, Russia topped the medals table winning 76 medals, including 29 gold. Italy finished 12th winning 10 medals, four of which were gold and were won by Oxana Corso (100m and 200m T35), Martina Caironi (100m T42) and Riccardo Scendoni (200m T44).
The Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium, the 2016 venue, features an eight lane MONDO track and has a capacity of 10,200 people. It has previously staged the 2001 European Athletics Junior Championships and the 2004 IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships.
This August Swansea, Great Britain, will host the 2014 European Championships, in October hundreds of athletes will take part in the track and field competition at the Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea and in November 2015, Doha, Qatar, will host the IPC Athletics World Championships.
In addition the IPC Athletics Grand Prix, which this year features nine events in four continents, will continue as will the IPC Marathon World Cup in London, Great Britain.
Starting this August IPC Athletics Marathon Americas Cup events will also take place each year in Rio and Sao Paulo until 2017.
For further information, please visit www.ipc-athletics.org.
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