World Athletics Championships to be Delayed by a Year After Tokyo Olympics Move to 2021

World Athletics has confirmed the 2021 World Athletics Championships will be shifted to a new date in light of the announcement that this year’s Tokyo Olympics will now be held next year.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in a joint statement, announced last week that this year’s Summer Games won’t happen as per original schedule due to the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, it was confirmed that the Olympics will now get underway from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

While throwing their weight behind the decision, World Athletics said the delay will provide more time for both qualified and Olympic hopefuls to get back into training.

“We support the new 2021 dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games announced today by the Japanese organisers and the IOC. This gives our athletes the time they need to get back into training and competition,” WA said in a statement on Monday.

The world championships 2021 was to take place in Oregon and run from August 6-15, Discussions have begun to fix a new date for the delayed biennial event.

“Everyone needs to be flexible and compromise and to that end we are now working with the organisers of the World Athletics Championships in Oregon on new dates in 2022 for our World Athletics Championships,” the statement read.

“We are also in discussions with the Commonwealth Games Federation and the European Championships. We would like to thank our Oregon 21 Organising Committee, their stakeholders and our partners for their collaboration and willingness to explore all options,” it added.