COVID-19: Australia pulls out of World Athletics Relay Championships

The decision was made "in light of the COVID-19 situation in Poland and greater Europe, with the safety and wellbeing of Australian participants at the forefront.”

April 12, 2021 08:46 am | Updated 08:46 am IST - MELBOURNE

Ukraine's Viktoriya Ratnikova, second right, competes in the round one heat one of the 60m race during the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, Sunday, March 7, 2021.

Ukraine's Viktoriya Ratnikova, second right, competes in the round one heat one of the 60m race during the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, Sunday, March 7, 2021.

Athletics Australia said they will not send athletes to next month's World Athletics Relay Championships in Poland due to the COVID-19 situation, a decision which may place their hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in doubt.

The decision was made "in light of the COVID-19 situation in Poland and greater Europe, with the safety and wellbeing of Australian participants at the forefront," AA said.

"It is always disappointing to withdraw a team from a major event however we believe the decision is in the best interest of the health and safety of our athletes, staff and coaches,” AA Chief Executive Darren Gocher said in a statement.

AA said it would look to host "relay-specific events" in June with the support of Oceania Athletics, so that Australia’s relay teams could attempt to meet qualifying standards for the Tokyo Games, which start on July 23.

Australia hope to enter men's and women's teams in the 4x100 metres and 4x400 relays at the Olympics but are yet to qualify.

The top eight placed nations at the May 1-2 World Athletics Relays in Silesia qualify for Tokyo if they have not already qualified through the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

Any remaining places are allocated according to World Athletics' rankings at June 29.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.