World modern pentathlon championships moved from China due to coronavirus

The world modern pentathlon championships have been moved from the Chinese city of Xiamen to Cancun in Mexico as a consequence of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, officials of the sport's ruling body (UIPM) said.

Xiamen was compensated by being named hosts of the event in 2022 with Minsk already confirmed for 2021.

"It was very important to offer our athletes a world championships at sea level, corresponding to the conditions they will find during the Olympics in Tokyo," said UIPM president Klaus Schormann.

Cancun will host the event from May 25 to 31 and will decide the qualifiers for the Olympics later this year.

The outbreak of the so-called COVID-19 illness, which began in December, has killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 75,500 in China.

Over 1,150 people have been infected and eight have died across 26 other countries, according to the World Health Organization.