Dates in summer 2022 being sought for 2021 world championships
(Reuters) - Athletics' world championships have been postponed until the summer of 2022 and the global governing body is seeking new dates for the event in Eugene, Oregon that was originally scheduled for 2021.
"100% Oregon will be held summer 2022," a World Athletics spokesman told Reuters on Monday.
World Athletics had earlier said in a statement: "We are now working with the organizers of the world athletics championships in Oregon on new dates in 2022 for our world athletics championships."
The championships had been scheduled for Aug. 6-15, 2021.
World Athletics said it also was in discussions with the Commonwealth Games Federation and the European Championships.
The European Championships are currently scheduled for Aug. 26-30 in Paris. The next Commonwealth Games are set for July 27-Aug. 7 2022 in Birmingham, England.
World Athletics announced its plans for rescheduling the world championships after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese officials said the new dates for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be July 23-Aug. 8, 2021.
The Games had been postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed thousands of people around the world.
"This gives our athletes the time they need to get back into training and competition," World Athletics said of the new Olympics dates. "Everyone needs to be flexible and compromise."
The governing body added, "We would like to thank our Oregon 21 Organising Committee, their stakeholders and our partners for their collaboration and willingness to explore all options."
Oregon organizers were not immediately available for comment.
They had said last week: "(We) can reassure World Athletics that we will work with them to ensure that Oregon can still host the World Athletics Championships on alternative dates should that prove necessary."
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Toby Chopra and Ken Ferris)
