The World Indoor Championships, Nanjing2020, has been postponed by World Athletics.
Trackalerts.com, on Tuesday, 28 January reported that the event was in danger because of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak in China.
Several sporting events were forced to find new venues or cancelled its 2020 staging.
World Athletics, a short while ago, disclosed “It is with regret that we have agreed with the organisers of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing (13-15 March 2020) to postpone the event to March 2021.”
“We know that China is doing all it can to contain the new Coronavirus and we support them in all their efforts but it is necessary to provide our athletes, Member Federations and partners with a clear way forward in what is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances.”
On Monday, 27 January, World Athletics spoke person promised they were waiting on the World Health Organization (WHO) to make a decision.
“The advice from our medical team, who are in contact with the World Health Organisation, is that the spread of the Coronavirus both within China and outside the country is still at a concerning level and no one should be going ahead with any major gathering that can be postponed,” World Athletics said.
“We have considered the possibility of relocating the event to another country and would like to thank the cities that have volunteered to host the championships. However, given concerns still exist regarding the spread of the virus outside China, we have decided not to go with this option, as it may lead to further postponement at a later date.
“The indoor season for athletics falls within a narrow calendar window (up to the end of March) and we believe we will be able to find a suitable date in 2021 to host this event. We would like Nanjing to be the host given the extensive planning and preparation they have put into this event.
“We have chosen not to cancel the championships as many of our athletes would like this event to take place so we will now work with our athletes, our partners and the Nanjing organising committee to secure a date in 2021 to stage this event,” the release ended.
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Move it somewhere else! Why postpone it??
Yup……makes sense.
Safety comes first
Yes.I agree.Life is precious so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
A whole year! Darn!
If there is any risk whatsoever yes postpone it for sure
For the safety of all I agree.
Yes! They need to find a new location!
I will only agree to it, just because of safety reasons.
Best to be safe than sorry, with somuch people gathering, that could be catastrophic to the world when they return home
Just move the venue to safer grounds
If they can’t find a suitable safe venues, cancell it,y risk it
You can not organize a meet of this magnitude in a couple of months. There is more to it than just the track meet. Accomodations food transportation etc. This does not happen overnight which is why countries have to bid for these games well in advance. You cant just move it. A good decision. Health is a one important