World Athletics approve new dates for postponed series due to COVID-19 pandemic

World Athletics has approved the new dates on July 30 for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Minsk 2020 and World U20 Championship Nairobi 2020.

The council has also been updated by the World Athletics on the conversations with World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 organisers to explore the alternative dates for the event.

World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe in an official statement mentioned that the disruption because of the pandemic is making the scheduling of international events more difficult over the next 2 years but we have done our bests in choosing the dates and in giving certainty to Member federations, athletes, partners, and host cities.

New dates of the Championships:

• As per the World Athletics, the World U20 Championship Nairobi 2020 will now be held from August 17 to 22, 2021, one week after the Tokyo Olympics Games. According to the competition’s rules, athletes who will be aged between 16-19 years as on December 31, 2021, will eligible to compete in the games.

• World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Minsk 2020 has been rescheduled for 23-24 April 2022 in Minsk, Belarus.

• The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 2022 has also seen a small date change by moving back one week from March 20, 2022, to March 27, 2022.

Alternative dates for World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021:

The talks to explore the alternative dates for the event are due to the ongoing travel and gathering restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures that have been implemented in Australia to contain it. It also includes the closure of Australia’s International Borders.

Because of the pandemic situation, the Board of the Local Organising Committee, World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021, the New South Wales government and the Athletics Australia Board have shown their strong desire to host this championship and have asked the World Athletics to postpone the event to the future date which is to be determined.

World Athletics will be working closely with all the stakeholders in Australia to explore the possibility of other dates. Currently, the event remains in the calendar for March 20, 2021.