The Nairobi World Under-20 Championships in Athletics that were to be held from July 7th to 12 have been shifted to August between the 17th to 22nd next year.
These games will begin a week after the Tokyo Olympic Games and according to World Athletics, athletes under the age of 16, 17, 18 and 19 will be permitted to compete on December 31 in 2021.
“We shall go back to the drawing board and make some adjustments to ensure that all is well,” said Mike Rabar the 2020 World Under-20 Chief Executive Officer who viewed the announcement as good news.
Rabar said the lockdown period gave them enough time to heighten preparations to ensure that they deliver a successful event. However, Kenya has to focus on bringing in new athletes as the age limit will bar juniors from taking part in the event.
A number of sport activities like the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships and the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships have been shifted to March and April 2022 due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said that it would be difficult to plan for any international events over the next years but assured that these events would take place.
“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.”concluded
