The Colombian city staged the World U18 Championships in 2015

Cali in Colombia is to host the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022.

The World U18 Championships was staged by the city in 2015, when 1200 athletes from 143 countries competed at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero.

Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown was among the winners at that event, as he claimed the 100m title ahead of Brazil’s Derick Silva and Great Britain’s Rechmial Miller (pictured).

This year’s edition of the under-20 event was originally scheduled to take place in Nairobi in July but has been postponed until August 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe congratulated Cali for its successful bid of the 2022 edition and said he was delighted that the global athletics community would return to South America in 2022.

“Our World U20 Championships are vibrant and youthful, so it’s entirely fitting that they should be held in a vibrant and youthful city,” he said.

“Cali now has substantial experience hosting major events and I’m sure will produce a championships with a typical Latin flavour.

“Athletics in South America has a proud history going back more than a century and has produced some of the great stars of our sport, including the 2018 world female athlete of the year, Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia. I would hope that hosting the World U20 Championships will inspire a generation of young Colombians and South Americans to follow in her footsteps.”

The president of the Colombian Athletics Federation, Ramiro Valera Marmojelo, added: “Cali is excited to have the opportunity to welcome the world’s best young athletes to Colombia in 2022 as the host of the World U20 Championships.

“We will put all our efforts into delivering a successful and memorable championships and building a great cultural, educational and sports legacy for the youth of the world.”