Coronavirus Update: Postponements, Cancellations Grow

(ATR)The spread of coronavirus and attempts to contain the disease are forcing more cancellations or postponements of sporting events around the world.

World Half Marathon Championships Postponed

The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, scheduled for Gydina, Poland on March 29, will now take place on October 17.

World Athletics said in a statement that the "current international situation would have seriously compromised the event at this time as many countries are now restricting international travel, invoking quarantines and advising citizens and event organizers to avoid mass gatherings".

The federation added that it hoped "the great majority" of the more than 25,000 recreational runners will still be able to participate alongside the elite competitors on the new date.

Final Badminton Paralympic Qualifying Event Cancelled

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed on Friday the Spanish Para Badminton International 2020 to be staged in Cartagena, Murcia starting March 10 has been cancelled.

The event was the final opportunity for athletes to gain ranking points in their bid to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Qualifying ends April 2.

The BWF said in a statement that it "understands today’s announcement will have various implications for players and teams related to Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games qualification.

"However, we are not at this time planning to make any adjustments to the qualification regulations."

It follows yesterday’s postponement of the 3rd Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International 2020.

Earlier this week, the government and local authorities in the UAE imposed a two-month postponement, beginning March 8, of all international sport activities after a series of positive cases diagnosed during the recent UAE Cycling Tour event

The BWF also announced on Thursday that three other non-Olympic qualifying events had been cancelled or postponed, two of them in Mongolia in May and the other in Thailand in April.

Asian Weightlifting Championships Postponed

The Asian Weightlifting Championships were moved from Kazakhstan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan last month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Now the International Weightlifting Federation has announced the event, which was scheduled for April 16-25, has been postponed to a yet unknown date.

Gymnastics Events Affected in Italy, Qatar

The International Gymnastics Federation on Thursday announced changes to two upcoming events.

The Italian Gymnastics Federation, citing the current situation with coronavirus in Italy, cancelled the Jesolo Cup in women’s artistic gymnastics that was scheduled for April 4-5.

The organizing committee of the Doha Artistic Gymnastics Individual Apparatus World Cup in Qatar said the event would go on as scheduled on March 18-21 but will be held behind closed doors.

FIS Cancels Two Events

The International Ski Federation (FIS) announced on Friday the cancellation of the Junior Ski Cross and Snowboard Cross World Championships 2020.

The federation said that French government restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus forced the decision.

The event was slated to take place in Saint-Lary, France from March 19-25.

FIS said in a statement that it "seems unlikely that a replacement venue can be found at this late stage of the season" but would attempt to find an alternate location.

FIS is also not optimistic about finding a replacement host for the final competition of the 2019/20 FIS Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup season.

The Spindelruv Mlyn SnowJam was scheduled from March 20-21, but restrictions put on sport and cultural gatherings of 5,000 or more spectators by the Czech government forced its cancellation on Wednesday.

Written by Gerard Farek

For general comments or questions,click here.

Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.