Games called off Virus halts World Indoor Athletics
World Athletics has taken the drastic measure of postponing by an entire year the World Indoor Championships due to be held in China in March, due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
The event – the highlight of the brief indoor athletics season – had been due to take place in Nanjing on March 13-15. But the governing body said it had decided to delay it a year following advice from its own medical team and the World Health Organisation.
There have been almost 6,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in China, and the death toll is just under 150. It has centred on the Chinese city of Wuhan – around 300 miles from Nanjing – and the Foreign Office on Tuesday advised against all but essential travel to mainland China.
World Athletics said in a statement: “We know that China is doing all it can to contain the 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 a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances.
“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.
“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 delay will mean a clash with the European Indoor Championships, which are scheduled to take place in Torun, Poland, on March 6-8 next year.
European Athletics has yet to officially comment on the announcement, but its president, Svein Arne Hansen, confirmed on social media that the plan was to hold both events early next year.
Although the competitions have been held in alternate years recently, there is precedent for such a clash, with both European and World Indoor Championships taking place in successive months in 1985, 1987 and 1989.
The World Cross Country Championships are also due to take place next March, in Bathurst, Australia, limiting options for the rescheduled event, which World Athletics confirmed it wanted Nanjing to host “given the extensive planning and preparation they have put in”.
The delay is likely to improve Britain’s medal hopes as the overwhelming majority of the team’s world-class athletes – including Dina Asher-smith, Katarina Johnson-thompson and Laura Muir – had planned to miss the event this year to focus on the Tokyo Olympics after a late World Championships last year.
The coronavirus outbreak also puts April’s Chinese Grand Prix, due to be held in Shanghai, in jeopardy. A Formula One spokesman said it would “monitor the situation in China closely”.