Athletics

Channel 4 and the BBC have reached an agreement which will see the transfer of broadcast rights to the 2013 IAAF World Athletics Championships pass to the BBC.

The BBC already has the broadcast rights to both the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships.

The agreement reflects Channel 4’s acquisition, this year, of a significantly enhanced portfolio of major horse racing events from January 2013, including The Grand National, The Derby and Royal Ascot.

The acquisition of the 2013 IAAF World Athletics Championships will see the BBC continue in its extensive support of Olympic sports in the build-up to Rio in 2016 and which culminates in 2017 when the Championships will be held at the Olympic Stadium in London. It also adds to the breadth and depth of a current sports rights slate which includes major tournaments such as the Six Nations, Wimbledon, Formula 1 and The Open. Continue reading »

9:30am Sunday 16 September on BBC ONE

Sue Barker introduces live coverage of the Great North Run, the world’s biggest half-marathon.

The prestigious event always attracts top-quality runners – and this year’s field will include Ethiopian long-distance legend Haile Gebrselassie.

But the race isn’t just about the elite runners. Around 50,000 others will be pounding the 13.1-mile route from Newcastle to South Shields, many raising money for good causes.

1:00pm Saturday 15 September on BBC ONE

Jonathan Edwards presents live coverage of the Great City Games from the quayside in Gateshead, where disciplines range from the 100m hurdles to the pole vault. Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford will be part of the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team who are taking on the USA.

Now in its fifth year, the Great City Games has become a popular fixture in the athletics calendar, and is the perfect complement to tomorrow’s Great North Run; last year, the event attracted more than 15,000 spectators, who got a prime view of the athletes competing on the purpose-built track right in the heart of the city.

7:00pm Friday 20 July on BBC THREE

Jonathan Edwards and Colin Jackson are live at the Stade Louis II for the final Diamond League meeting before the London Olympics.

Topping the bill is Usain Bolt in the 200m. He will be counting down to the moment he defends his Olympic crown.

Russia’s Yelena Isinbaeva is another Olympic champion on show. She will be looking for a repeat of her performance at this meeting in 2008, when she set a world record in the pole vault ahead of the Beijing Games.

2:05pm Saturday 14 July on BBC ONE

John Inverdale introduces live coverage of the second day of action at Crystal Palace, as some of the world’s leading athletes step up their preparations for the Olympics.

The triple jump looks set to serve up a mouth-watering contest as Phillips Idowu goes head-to-head with the man who took his World Championship crown from him last year, Christian Taylor of the United States.

Christine Ohuruogu will take part in her last major race before defending the Olympic 400m title she won in Beijing.

British record holder Tiffany Porter will face Australia’s 100m hurdles world champion Sally Pearson, in what could be a preview of the Olympic final.

Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis are on hand to offer expert analysis of the action.

6:00pm Friday 13 July on BBC TWO

John Inverdale introduces live coverage of the first of two days’ competition at Crystal Palace, as the world’s best athletes fine-tune their preparations for the London Olympics.

Mo Farah leads the British challenge on the opening night of this Diamond League meeting. He competes over 5000m, the distance at which he is world and European champion, having stormed to victory over 3000m at Crystal Palace last year.

Another British world champion, Dai Greene, competes over 400m hurdles, with Perri Shakes-Drayton going in the women’s event and Cuba-born Brit Yamile Aldama hoping to build on her world indoor title in the triple jump.

2:00pm Sunday 1 July on BBC TWO

Jonathan Edwards presents live coverage of the final day of the European Athletics Championships from Helsinki, as well as highlights from the first four days.

With the GB team for London 2012 due to be finalised later this week, this could be the final chance to catch the eye of the selectors. For those athletes who are already assured of their place in the Olympic squad it will be an opportunity to fine-tune their form ahead of the Games, which are now just a few weeks away.

It’s the third time the famous Olympic Stadium in Helsinki has hosted the European Championships: British gold medallists on the most recent occasion in 1994 included Linford Christie, Colin Jackson and Sally Gunnell.

5:00pm Sunday 24 June on BBC TWO

John Inverdale presents live coverage from the final day at the Aviva 2012 Trials, where Britain’s athletes battle it out for Olympic qualification.

Only the first two eligible athletes in each event will be guaranteed a spot at the London Games so the pressure will be intense in front of a packed crowd at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.

The Men’s 110m hurdles looks too close to call, with world championship bronze medallist Andy Turner taking on Will Sharman, Lawrence Clarke and new star, Andy Pozzi in the 110m hurdles. There will also be much interest in the field, where Lawrence Okoye is a rising star in the discus and highly rated pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale will be looking to rubber-stamp her place at the London Games.

4:45pm Saturday 23 June on BBC TWO

John Inverdale presents live coverage from the Aviva 2012 Trials as Great Britain’s athletes go head-to-head to try and secure qualification for the Olympics Games.

More than 750 athletes will be competing in what is sure to be a tense weekend at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium. Only the first two eligible athletes in the final of each discipline are automatically nominated for selection, provided that they fulfil the selection and qualification standards.

Sprinter Dwain Chambers will be hoping to book his place in the 100m at the London Games, following the decision to lift his lifetime ban for using performance enhancing drugs by the British Olympic Association in April. Triple jumper Phillips Idowu will also be in action, desperate to make the squad so he can try and go one better than the silver medal he won four years ago in Beijing.

8:30pm Sunday 22 April on BBC ONE

Sue Barker presents live coverage of the 32nd London Marathon as the world’s elite athletes tread the now familiar path around the streets of England’s capital city, alongside numerous club racers and thousands of fun runners looking to raise money for charitable causes.

As well as glory in the English springtime, each winner will be looking to lay down an impressive marker for the Olympic marathon which will also finish on the Mall.

The men’s race has the two fastest marathon runners of all time in Patrick Makau and Wilson Kipsang, as well as the defending champion Emmanuel Mutai who won in a new course record last year.

The women’s race boasts world champion Edna Kiplagat, defending champion Mary Keitany and Florence Kiplagat, the Kenyan who beat Paula Radcliffe to win in Berlin last Autumn.

Dave Weir, as well as defending his title, is looking to equal Dame Tanni Grey Thompson’s record of six London Marathon victories, while there also promises to be a fierce domestic battle for the final places on the British Olympic team.

Time confirmed as 8.30am to 2.00pm