Coronavirus pandemic

Athletics' Olympic qualifying from Dec 1

PARIS • World Athletics announced on Tuesday night that track and field qualification for the Tokyo Olympics has been suspended until Dec 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Games have already been pushed back from this summer to July 23 next year as a result of the Covid-19 disease outbreak.

"This period gives more certainty for athlete planning and preparation, and is the best way to address fairness in what is expected to be the uneven delivery of competition opportunities across the globe for athletes, given the challenges of international travel and government border restrictions," World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a statement.

Competitors who have already reached the qualification standards will retain their places for the Olympics.

Next year's deadline to qualify for the marathon and 50km walk will be May 31, with June 29 the final date for the remaining events.

World Athletics' global rankings have also been frozen. The season is set to begin in June, but any results before the restart date will not count.

With no races on the horizon, the governing body has also moved to place half of its staff at its Monaco headquarters on furlough.

The Monaco government has set up a relief scheme to help soften the financial blow of the contagion and will pay up 70 per cent of wages.

World Athletics will top up the remaining 30 per cent, and Coe said the decision was necessary "to reflect current realities".

"The income we receive is not 'our' money. We are custodians of granted funds, which may well be disrupted this year, to spend on the development and delivery of athletics across the globe," he added.

"We will focus only on business-critical activities for the short term which will help us manage our cash flow and protect jobs in the long term."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 09, 2020, with the headline Athletics' Olympic qualifying from Dec 1. Subscribe