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World indoor athletics champs postponed until 2021 due to coronavirus outbreak

January 30, 2020

Another large international sporting event set to be hosted by China has been forced to postpone this morning with World Athletics confirming March's Indoor World Championships won't take place until next year.

The coronavirus outbreak has so far forced Olympic qualifier events for basketball, boxing and more to be moved from China and now the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which were scheduled to take place in Nanjing from March 13-15, have been affected as well.

"We know that China is doing all it can to contain the new coronavirus and we support them in all their efforts but it is necessary to provide our athletes, Member Federations and partners with a clear way forward in what is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances," the governing body said in a statement.

"The advice from our medical team, who are in contact with the World Health Organisation, is that the spread of the coronavirus both within China and outside the country is still at a concerning level and no one should be going ahead with any major gathering that can be postponed.

Kiwis affected by the decision include shot putters Tom Walsh and Dame Valerie Adams, who hoped to use the event as a springboard for their season with the focus firmly on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo later this year.

World Athletics said they contemplated following other large sports events and relocating but felt it didn't resolve the situation fully.

"We have considered the possibility of relocating the event to another country and would like to thank the cities that have volunteered to host the championships. However, given concerns still exist regarding the spread of the virus outside China, we have decided not to go with this option, as it may lead to further postponement at a later date.

"We have chosen not to cancel the championships as many of our athletes would like this event to take place so we will now work with our athletes, our partners and the Nanjing organising committee to secure a date in 2021 to stage this event."

The coronavirus death toll is currently at over 100 with a further 1000 confirmed cases also present.

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