World Athletics Championship Officially Rescheduled To 2022

The World Athletics Championships have been rescheduled for July 2022 in response to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games being pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

This change now means the World Athletics Championships in Oregon in the USA will end just three days before the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games are due to begin on July 27, 2022.

The World Athletics Council said the new date was agreed after consultations with Birmingham 2022 organisers following the rescheduling of the 2020 Olympic Games.

World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, said the new schedule presented “a bonanza for athletics fans around the globe”.

“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 (CGF) planning to stage the athletics programme towards the end of their event,” Coe said.

CGF president, Louise Martin, said the decision came after constructive conversations between World Athletics and the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee, the latter looking at creating space within its schedule.

“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,” Martin said.

Along with the announcement of the date change, World Athletics has postponed the bidding process for two of its major events in 2023, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships and the World Athletics Relays.

These decisions come amid lockdown restrictions around the globe that are continuing to put a stop to most sport and business in the world as the Coronavirus maintains its tight grip.