The international athletics federation IAAF has received Mexico’s late registration for 18 athletes. At last 180 nations will now participate at the WYC Südtirol 2009 as concerns over their participation because of the recent swine flu epidemic in the country has now been put to rest.
The largest contingent comes from the US (51 athletes) followed by host country Italy (48). 45 nations are from Europe, 39 from Africa, 36 from Asia and 30 from Middle and North America, 18 from Oceania and 12 from South America.
This amounts to 1038 accredited individuals including coaches and support staff. 1339 of these are athletes (771 boys and 568 girls).
WYC Event Manager Stefano Andreatta said: "We immediately made ourselves knowledgable about the potential risks of the swine flu once Mexico confirmed it attendance.
"The IAAF has mitigated our concerns assuring us the that Mexican delegation has been subject to a special screening for Swine Flu."