Nanjing Indoors Bumped to 2023

(ATR) The World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China are now bumped to 2023.

Originally planned for March 2020, the event was one of the first international sports events upended by the spread of coronavirus. The event was postponed to March 2021, but now WA says uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic remain a threat.

Now the indoor championships in Nanjing will be scheduled for March 2023. Belgrade remains the host of the 2022 edition.

"Whilst we have been liaising with the Organising Committee and the Chinese Athletics Association to evaluate the staging over the last few weeks, given the current global situation, there is still significant uncertainty about the state of the Covid-19 pandemic in the early part of 2021," says the Dec. 10 notice from WA.

"For the safety of our athletes and technical officials, we must duly consider the risks in bringing a large group of people to attend the event under the pandemic situation and fully respect and carry out the pandemic prevention policy of the host country," says the statement.

Speaking Dec. 9 on a panel at the Host City conference, WA events director Jakob Larsen indicated that a decision would come by the end of the month. He said the big concern wasn’t so much staging the championships, but whether athletes could get there.

"Is it possible to do the event, yes or no. But there is the perspective of whether you are able to do the event, can people travel, how will we affect their preparations into what became an Olympic year," Larsen said.

"We feel we can do the event. But it’s also a matter of we can throw a party, but if no one shows...then it doesn't work out as a party."

"We owe it to the athletes to make a decision," Larsen said, especially with 2021 now an Olympics year with the postponement of Tokyo.

World Athletics says it is committed to staging the indoors championship in Nanjing.

"We would like Nanjing to be the host of our World Indoor Championships given the extensive planning and preparation they have put into this event," says the federation release.

Reported by Ed Hula.