The decision from World Athletics comes in the wake of speculations that the Tokyo Olympics, due to start on July 24 could be postponed to the next year.
Athletes compete during the Women's 5000m Final at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 5, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua/Li Ming/IANS)
The World Athletics on Monday said that it was willing to postpone the world championships, which are scheduled next year in Eugene, Oregon, to accommodate the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The decision comes in the wake of speculations that the Summer Games this year, due for a start on July 24, could be postponed to the next year amid the worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“World Athletics has already been in discussion with the Oregon 21 Organizing Committee regarding the possibility the Olympic Games may move to next year and they in turn have held discussions with their key stakeholders and have reassured us they will work with all of their partners and stakeholders to ensure that Oregon is able to host the World Athletics Championships on alternative dates should that prove necessary,” athletics’ global governing body said in an official statement.
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The Oregon world championships are currently scheduled for August 6-15, 2021 but Oregon organizers said it would be possible to hold the championships on an alternative date.
Earlier, World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe had written a letter to IOC president Thomas Bach, calling in for the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his letter, Coe has said that an Olympics in July 2020 is “neither feasible or desirable” because of the coronavirus crisis, which has already killed over 16,500 people and affected more than 3,87,700 people worldwide.
Meanwhile, IOC member Dick Pound on Monday claimed that the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed. However, there has been no official communication from the IOC.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, the postponement has been decided,” Pound was quoted as saying by USA today in a report by Christine Brennan.
(With PTI inputs)
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