The world athletics governing body, World Athletics, has announced the rescheduling of the Athletics season for August to October 2020.
A statement on the body’s website on Tuesday read that the decision followed the commitment of most Continental Tour Gold and Wanda Diamond League meeting directors to organise their events on rescheduled dates in 2020.
”A small number of countries will be able to stage meetings through June and July.
“Oslo’s Bislett Games will go ahead in an altered format called ‘The Impossible Games on 11 June’, but the international season is likely to commence in earnest directly after the National Championships window of 8-9 August.
”The first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting of the year, the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, will be held on 11 August.
”Eight of the ten Continental Tour Gold meetings originally scheduled for 2020 have been confirmed for this year, although many have been rescheduled to fall between August and October,” the statement read.
It however noted that the Nairobi meeting, originally planned to open the tour in May, has been rescheduled for Sept. 26, and the Nanjing and Tokyo meetings are considering dates in September-October, but yet to be finalised.
”A total prize money purse of at least US$200,000 will be offered for each Gold meeting
”Some Continental Tour Silver and Bronze meetings will also be able to go ahead, primarily as domestic competitions, starting from the Memorial Josefa Odlozila in Prague on 8 June.
”Of the World Athletics Series events that were scheduled for 2020, only the World Half Marathon Championships will go ahead this year, on 17 October in Gdynia, Poland.
”The World Indoor Championships will be held in Nanjing, 19-21 March, 2021, but the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, and the World Race Walking Team Championships in Minsk, Belarus are still being rescheduled,” the statement read.
The bodu therefore released the 2020 international competition calendar as follow:
August
11 Turku – Continental Tour Gold
14 Monaco – Wanda Diamond League
16 Gateshead – Wanda Diamond League
20 Szekesfehervar – Continental Tour Gold
23 Stockholm – Wanda Diamond League
September
2 Lausanne – Wanda Diamond League
4 Brussels – Wanda Diamond League
6 Paris (tbc) – Wanda Diamond League
6 Silesia – Continental Tour Gold
8 Ostrava – Continental Tour Gold
15 Zagreb – Continental Tour Gold
17 Rome/Naples – Wanda Diamond League
19 Shanghai – Wanda Diamond League
26 Nairobi – Continental Tour Gold
October
4 Eugene – Wanda Diamond League
9 Doha – Wanda Diamond League
17 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships
17 China (venue tba) – Wanda Diamond League.
