Olympic Qualification Process and Late Season Being Studied: Coe ‘We Don’T Yet Know the Date for the Games Next Year’
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18 Established 1961 Sports Sunday, March 29, 2020 Olympic qualification process and late season being studied: Coe ‘We don’t yet know the date for the Games next year’ TOKYO: World Athletics is working to restart a as soon as possible to any changes to the Tokyo “In athletics the primary qualification avenue is shuttered athletics season and studying any Olympics qualifying process, Coe said. by meeting the entry standards set out in March changes that may be needed in the qualifying World Athletics began reviewing its Olympic 2019,” Coe added. “Once those places are allocat- process for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, pres- qualification process after the IOC and sports fed- ed, the remaining athletes are drawn from the ident Sebastian Coe said on Friday. world ranking list. As of today, all athletes who The governing body is hoping to offer a series have met the entry standards for their event will of meetings that may begin in August and run to remain qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games in October so athletes can get back in to competition Review is 2021. This is approximately 50% of the places.” as quickly as possible when it is safe to do so due A major review is also underway of the global to the coronavirus pandemic, Coe said in a letter underway calendar of events, not just for the next two years addressed to the athletics community. which will see some major disruptions, but for the “We don’t yet know the date for the Games next of global long term. The decision comes as athletics’ year,” Coe said, “but once they (the International events Diamond League series announced on Friday it has Olympic Committee and the Japanese government) cancelled its meetings through June but hopes to have made it, we will look at what, if any, impact have a late season. that decision has on our World Athletics “The priority for all of us right now is to contain Championships Oregon 21.” the pandemic, stay healthy and stay home,” Coe Many expect the championships in Eugene, erations agreed that all athletes currently qualified said. “But where we can continue to drive our Oregon, to be moved to 2022. Athletics’ global for the Tokyo 2020 Games will remain qualified for sport forward. “The world will not be the same Sebastian Coe governing body also hopes to provide an answer next year’s event. after this pandemic.” —Reuters that when the lockdown finishes and we do start to All Blacks coach think about a starting point for rugby again.” With New Zealand in lockdown until the end of April at least, the Super Rugby sides have indi- doubts Wales, cated it could be several weeks before they are ready to resume the southern hemisphere club Scotland Tests championship. “We know for every week that we don’t have rugby training we need to have a week of rugby will go ahead training to replace it when we get back together,” Simon Thomas, the strength and conditioning coach WELLINGTON: All Blacks coach Ian Foster con- with the champion Canterbury Crusaders, told Stuff. ceded yesterday the July home Tests against Wales While rugby is on hold, Foster’s coaching team and Scotland are likely to be scrapped as borders and players face pay cuts as New Zealand Rugby are locked down in the face of the coronavirus looks to trim costs. “Our coaching group has defi- pandemic. nitely taken a big cut, it’s already been agreed to. The official word from the three countries is that With rugby, when there’s no games there’s no rev- the Tests “are still planned for” but Foster said he enue, and that’s a tough thing,” he said. cannot see them going ahead. “If you look at the “I haven’t had one player yet who doesn’t know probability, there’s a reasonably good chance that it’s going to happen or doesn’t accept that it’s going international travel and borders won’t be down to happen.” But when the restrictions are eased, across the world at that point, so in that case the All Foster will be pushing for as much game time as the Blacks won’t be playing in July,” he told Radio All Blacks can get. Newstalk ZB. “When the curtain goes up and it’s time to play, Foster added they could not keep international and the borders are open, there will be a lot of players at a level of match fitness just in case desire to get the international game going, particu- because “they’ll just blow out mentally and get real- larly from the southern hemisphere teams,” he said. ly frustrated with that because there’s so much “We’ll be keen to play as much as we can uncertainty”. because that’s how you can generate some big “We want the players to settle down then we’ll money, and we can start to recoup some FROMBERG: Marco Fuerst (Red Bull Skydive Team) performs during Megaswing in Fromberg, Austria. start expecting fitness levels to be at a certain point stuff.” —AFP Premier League, Football League and Women’s • The World Athletics Indoor Championships • Cricket Ireland and the Bangladesh Cricket all 36 races this season. Sports events hit Super League, were suspended until April 30 but (Nanjing, March 13-15) were postponed. They will Board agreed to postpone three one-day inter- • The Le Mans 24 hours race was postponed the current season can be extended indefinitely. be held in the same city from March 19-21, 2021. nationals and four Twenty20 games between the from June 13-14 to Sept. 19-20. • Germany’s Bundesliga and second division • The Paris and Barcelona marathons were teams scheduled for Belfast and England in May. • The annual 24 Hours Motos, initially post- by coronavirus will pause at least until April 2. postponed. CYCLING poned from April to September, is now sched- • UEFA postponed all Champions League and • The London marathon (April 26), was post- • Cycling’s governing body plans to retroac- uled to take place on Aug. 29-30. Europa League matches due to take place poned to Oct. 4. tively use March 3 as the cut-off point for • Formula One expects to run a shortened pandemic between March 17-19. • The Penn Relays (April 23-25), were can- Olympic qualification in mountain bike, BMX season of 15-18 grands prix once racing • South America’s two biggest club competi- celled for the first time in the event’s 125-year his- Racing and BMX Freestyle. resumes, down from its original calendar of a NEW YORK: Major sports events around the tions, the Copa Libertadores and Copa tory. The Mt. SAC Relays and Florida Relays, also • The final two stages of the UAE Tour were record 22 races. world that have been hit by the coronavirus pan- Sudamericana, were suspended until at least scheduled for April, and the March Texas Relays, cancelled after two Italian participants tested • The Indianapolis 500, one of the world’s demic: May 5. were all cancelled. positive. biggest single-day sporting events with an esti- OLYMPICS • The CAF postponed two rounds of the 2021 • Kenya’s athletics authority ordered the clo- • The Paris-Nice cycling race ended a day mated crowd topping 350,000, has been post- • The International Olympic Committee and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (March 25-31). sure of training camps and clubs, hampering ath- early after the eighth stage into Nice was can- poned until Aug. 23. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe concluded the • CONCACAF suspended all competitions, letes’ preparations for the Olympics. celled. • The fifth and sixth rounds of the world rally Tokyo 2020 Olympics must be postponed and including the Champions League and men’s AUSTRALIAN RULES • The Giro d’Italia, scheduled to start in championship in Portugal (May 21-24) and Italy held no later than the summer of 2021. Olympic qualifiers. • The Australian Football League’s attempt to Budapest, Hungary on May 9, was postponed. (June 4-7) have been postponed. • The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch lighting • The top two tiers of French football — Ligue forge on with the season despite the virus out- • The Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege NETBALL ceremony in ancient Olympia was held without 1 and Ligue 2 — were suspended. break lasted one round before it was shut down and the Tour de Yorkshire Race men’s and • The Super Netball season in Australia, orig- spectators. • All matches in Spain’s top two divisions were on March 22 in the wake of a government crack- women’s races have been postponed. inally scheduled to start on May 3, has been • Tokyo 2020 organisers received the Olympic postponed for two weeks. down on non-essential travel. • All cycling races up to the end of April have postponed and will not begin before June 30. flame in a scaled-down handover ceremony that • U.S. Major League Soccer suspended its BADMINTON already been cancelled and riders in France and ROWING was closed to spectators. season. • The Badminton World Federation cancelled Spain, where many are based, have been explic- • Two World Rowing Cups and the European • The Hellenic Olympic Committee suspended • All soccer in the Netherlands was suspended the last five tournaments in the qualification peri- itly told they cannot train outside. Olympic Qualification Regatta, all scheduled for the remainder of the torch relay through Greece until the end of March. od for the Olympics, making the All England Open GOLF Italy, were cancelled. to avoid attracting crowds. • FIFA and AFC agreed to postpone Asian played from March 11-15 the final event to count • The year’s first major, the Masters, was • The annual University Boat Race, set for OLYMPIC TRIALS World Cup qualifying matches in March and June.