The World Athletics Championships in Oregon has been moved to July 15-24, 2022, in order to accommodate the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to 2021
The event, originally scheduled for August 6-15, 2021 will now be a part of an Athletics trifecta joining the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the multi-sport European Championships in Munich in a packed July-August calendar.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe stated: “This will be a bonanza for athletics fans around the world.
“They will be treated to six weeks of absolutely first-class athletics. More than 70 of our Member Federations are part of the Commonwealth and more than 50 of our Member Federations are European so our guiding principle in rescheduling the World Championships was to ensure enough space was created around the centrepiece World Athletics Championship for athletes to choose other major events to compete in.
“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.”
The World Championships will begin the celebration of athletics, followed by the Commonwealth Games and the European Athletics Championships as part of the European Championships.
Whilst Coe mentioned that the scheduling isn’t ideal, it has presented a unique opportunity to showcase some of the world’s best athletes all in a short period of time.
Niels de Vos, Executive Director of the World Athletics Championships Oregon 22, concluded: “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.”