by Alfonz Juck
Hayward Field, art work by Eugene Register-Guard
After the recent announcement of the change of dates of the World Athletics Champs in Eugene from July 2021 to July 2022, there has been lots of support. EME News gathered the updates from key continental bodies as well as global federations.
EUGENE 2022 DATE NEWS
MONACO (MON): Dates for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon have been set as 15-24 July. Originally slated for 6-15 August, 2021, the event was put back a year due to the postponement of the Olympics. The WA council approved the decision this week following discussions with organisers of the European Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022. WA president Seb Coe said: “We believe we have found a solution that will allow athletes who are eligible for the other two events to compete in them with the Commonwealth Games Federation planning to stage the athletics programme towards the end of their event. This will showcase our sport to its best advantage in the circumstances and we will continue collaborating with all competitions on the detailed programming. We would not have chosen to have three major championships back-to-back but it will give us a unique opportunity to promote our sport and its stars around the globe over a six-week period.”
OREGON (USA): Organisers of the 2022 World Athletics Championships thanked its stakeholders for flexibility following the date change. Niels de Vos, executive director of the World Athletics Championships Oregon 22, said: “I should like to thank Oregon’s stakeholders for committing so early to the postponement, allowing maximum flexibility on dates for our friends at World Athletics, just as they have been flexible with us in ensuring our plans can remain on track despite the 12 month postponement. Oregon 22, as we must now get used to calling it, will be kickstarting a global festival of international track and field championships in the summer of 2022 that will be a fantastic experience for athletes and fans alike.”
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): “USATF worked diligently with all the key stakeholders to find a suitable date for rescheduling,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “Postponing to 2022 will allow us even more time to prepare for the world’s best athletes to descend on Eugene, Oregon. We appreciate the alliance of all partners including World Athletics, the local organizing committee and the state of Oregon.”
LONDON (GBR): Commonwealth Games president Louise Martin paid tribute to the global body for its part in the scheduling of the World Championships. Birmingham will stage the Games on 27 July-7 August. She said: “I would like to thank the leadership of World Athletics for a hugely constructive approach to working with the CGF. Our collective objective has been to ensure that, in this unprecedented time of global upheaval in all our lives, as well as its impact on the international sports calendar, the interests of athletes are at the centre of all decision-making. We will continue to work together to create space within our schedules to provide athletes with the opportunity to safely compete to the best of their abilities at multiple world class events.” Athletics is planned on Aug 1-7.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Organisers of the European Athletics Championships, set to be held on 15-21 August 2022 in Munich, welcomed the news also. Libor VarhanÃk, interim chair of the European Championships Munich 2022, said: “On behalf of all the stakeholders of the multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, I would like to thank World Athletics for working constructively and collaboratively with us in finding a new event date that respects the major events already scheduled in 2022. The international sports calendar has been hugely impacted as we battle this terrible global health crisis, and in discussions with World Athletics and the Commonwealth Games Federation our mutual goal has been to put the interest of our athletes at the forefront of our thoughts.”
LAUSANNE (SUI): European Athletics has today confirmed its full support for the dates selected for the re-scheduled World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon of 15-24 July 2022, allowing a full month before the European Athletics Championships which will take place in Munich from 15-21 August 2022. Commenting on the World Athletics announcement, European Athletics Interim President and World Athletics Council Member Dobromir Karamarinov said: “I would like to thank World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and Council for their expert handling of this matter. For athletics fans, and athletes alike, the summer of 2022 now promises to be a six-week feast of sporting events beginning with the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, then the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and culminating with our European Athletics Championships in Munich.”
LAUSANNE (SUI): The Paris 2020 European Athletics Championships which are scheduled to take place from 25-30 August are currently under evaluation after the European Athletics Executive Board requested the Local Organising Committee to carry out a detailed feasibility study of the event, with input from the relevant national authority bodies, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The European Athletics Council is scheduled to meet next on 7 and 8 May, via video conference, and will consider this feasibility study.
