• Sport's governing body announces cancellation of World Athletics Half Marathon C'ships due to Covid

    Sports
    Sport's governing body announces cancellation of World Athletics Half Marathon C'ships due to Covid

    Yangzhou will host the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships, as per the decision made by the World Athletics Council.


    Digital Desk: The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, scheduled to be held in Yangzhou, China, in November, has been postponed "as a result of the (Covid-19) pandemic," the organisation that governs the sport announced on Tuesday.


    According to the World Athletics Council, Yangzhou will host the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships.


    World Athletics made a choice after consulting with the regional organising committee and the Chinese Athletics consultations.


    The World Athletics tweeted, "World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 22 has been cancelled, and the city will instead host the World Athletics Road Running Championships in March 2027."





    The Global Athletics Road Running Championships will feature a new world 5-kilometre championship in addition to the half-marathon. They will make their debut in Riga, Latvia, from September 30 to October 1, 2023.


    Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, said, "Unfortunately, the championships cannot be held this year, through no fault of the LOC, but our endurance athletes will have the opportunity to participate in Riga next year."


    According to the governing body, "The Council's choice to award Yangzhou another event in 2027 shows its confidence in the organising committee and desire to go back and produce a World Athletics Series road running event at the first possible opportunity." 


    The only developed nation to adhere to a zero-Covid strategy is China, which responds to every incident with strict isolation orders and rigorous testing programmes.


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