by Alfonz JuckThis is the update on how the COVID-19 coronavirus is being seen in the sport of global athletics. Thanks to EME News.
Coronavirus, photo by Journalist Resource
VIRUS IMPACT
TOKYO (JPN): 2008 Olympic 4x100m silver medallist Naoki Tsukahara, 34, has tested positive for the coronavirus, informs Japan Running News. Under medical guidance Tsukahara was hospitalised on 30 March at a health centre specialising in the treatment of infectious disease.
ORAN (ALG): The Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria has been moved from 2021 to 2022, informs AFP. It was the Algerian Minister of Youth and Sports who made the announcement on Tuesday. The 19th edition of the Games were originally scheduled for June 25 – July 2, 2021.
LIMA (PER): The Athletes’ Village for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima is among the sporting venues which is doubling up as a coronavirus medical facility, informs insidethegames.biz. The facility has made available 900 beds across two of the seven tower blocks which were used for last year’s event.
LONDON (GBR): Head of UK Anti-Doping Nicole Sapstead has warned that athletes who choose to use the relaxation in drug testing controls due to the coronavirus as an opportunity to dope will still run the risk of being caught, informs AFP. “There will always be a minority that will seek to dope. Whether that is now, when they think they are effectively off the radar of national anti-doping organisations, or at any other time, my message to them is very, very clear – we will continue to process intelligence. We will continue to monitor whereabouts, we will continue to monitor the raft of information we have available to us, such as the athlete biological passports,” she said.
BONN (GER): The German Anti-Doping Agency has assured that the suspended testing system could be restarted quickly in time for upcoming qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, informs dpa. “If the situation permits, NADA will again carry out classic doping controls. The logistics are still fully available and the control system can be restarted very quickly in the usual quantity and quality,” they said.
HAMBURG (GER): The Hamburg Marathon has been rescheduled from 19 April to 13 September, informs Leichtathletik.de.
TOKYO (JPN): Olympic historians pointed out that an Opening Ceremony of Olympic Games never before happened on July 23. The closest was in 1992 on July 25.
MAEBASHI (JPN): Maebashi Mayor Ryu Yamamoto has announced the Japanese city will continue to host athletes from South Sudan until July as scheduled, despite the COVID-19 crisis postponing Tokyo 2020. Yamamoto spoke to the South Sudan National Olympic Committee about the decision and said assistance could be extended until the date of the rescheduled Games, according to NHK. The city, which lies around 130 kilometres to the north of Tokyo, has hosted four track and field athletes since November.
KOSICE (SVK): The organisers of the oldest marathon in Europe, the International Peace Mararthon in Kosice (October 4, 2020) were forced to postpone until 2021 their new event. The Peace Half Marathon planned originally with inaugural edition for May 16 will be now held on May 15, 2021.
LAUSANNE (SUI): European Mountain Running Championships 2020 will be held in 2021 on july 3 in Cinfaes, Portugal.
MONACO (MON): World Athletics has launched Athletics@Home, a new series designed to help people of all ages to stay fit, active and engaged during this period of unprecedented lockdown around the world. The content, which will appear on both the World Athletics website and across its social media channels, is divided into four themes: Kids, Active, Rewind and Unwind.
BELLINZONA (SUI): The 10th edition of Gala dei Castelli in Bellinzona originally planned for May 25 (WA Continental Tour Bronze) is postponed for later stages of the season.
KINGSTON (JAM): One of the top Jamaican coaches Maurice Wilson supports the staging of meets late this year as proposed last week by the sport’s world governing body. Wilson says the sport can’t afford to disengage from fans for a whole year and believes that exciting matchups could energise support as athletics moves past the novel coronavirus and towards the rescheduled Olympic Games next year. “It is important that these athletes keep training, keep good athletic form, and be ready to compete,” he continued. “I think it is the responsibility of the JAAA, guided by World Athletics, to make sure that our athletes are in shape to perform,” says Wilson. He would welcome even local meetings when the international circuit will not be able to start. Writes Jamaica Gleaner.
HALLE (GER): The special throwing meet Hallesche Werfertage in Halle (Continental Tour Bronze Special) planned for May 16-17 will be postponed. The organisers are in process to find a new date. In their release they see an option in the time frame July 17 until August 23. The decision is expected in May.
ANN ARBOR (USA): The University of Michigan announced Tuesday it plans to convert its indoor track into hospital space, redeploy staff, and convert other areas within its health system, including dormitories, to handle a surge of coronavirus patients as demand for hospital beds grows. Informs Detroit Free Press.
