Athleticsweekly
The first three meetings of the 2020 season, scheduled for Qatar and China, will not take place as planned due to the coronavirus outbreak
The Wanda Diamond League has postponed the first three meetings of its 2020 series due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The opening event of the season had been due to take place in Doha, Qatar, on April 17, while two events in China were scheduled for May 9 and 16.
The second of the two meetings in China was due to take place in Shanghai and that event is now planned for August 13.
New dates for the Doha meeting and the second event in China, for which the venue is still to be confirmed, are yet to be announced.
The next event in the series is the Stockholm meeting, scheduled for May 24.
“Due to the growing number of countries affected by the COVID-19 virus, the first three meetings of the 2020 Wanda Diamond League season, scheduled for 17th April in Qatar, 9th and 16th May 2020 in China, cannot be held as planned. This decision was made in close consultation with organising committees, local authorities and sports governing bodies,” said Diamond League organisers.
“It is forbidden to enter Qatar from a number of countries and the government in Doha has suspended all national and international events for a period of 30 days. While the number of new infections is now decreasing in China, the fact remains that preparations for the meetings have been set back by several weeks and the closed borders and travel restrictions make it impossible to organise international top level competitions.
“The current plan is to stage the Shanghai event on 13th August. New dates for Doha and the second meeting in China remain to be announced. It could be that they will be held after the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich from 9th through 11th September, where the Diamond League Champions will be crowned, should the global situation allow.”
These Diamond League meetings are the latest on a long list of events to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Last week it was confirmed that both the London and Boston marathons would be postponed, while on Monday organisers announced that the English national and area road relays would be cancelled.