World Athletics has postponed the 2020 Nairobi World U20 Championships due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
The events had initially been set for 7th to12th July this year, but the World Athletics Council has approved new dates.
According to a statement on the World Athletics governing body website, the competition has been pushed to next year immediately after the Olympic games.
“The World U20 Championships will now be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 17 to 22 August, 2021, one week after the Tokyo Olympic Games,” read the statement.
“Under the competition’s rules, athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 years on 31 December, 2021 will be eligible to compete.
“The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships have been rescheduled for 23-24 April, 2022 in Minsk, Belarus.”
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe explained why the dates were changed.
“The disruption caused by the global pandemic has made it more difficult to schedule international events over the next two years but we want to give as much certainty as we can to our athletes, Member Federations, host cities and partners,” he told the World Athletics website.
“We have done our best to choose dates that we believe are achievable and offer the best chance for our athletes and event hosts to shine on the international stage.”
