FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dates confirmed for World Athletics Championships Oregon 2022
The World Athletics Championships in Oregon have been rescheduled to 15-24
July in 2022, following the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic and
Paralympic Games to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Oregon World Championships were originally scheduled for 6-15 August,
2021, but have been rescheduled to the following year to avoid a clash with
the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The World Athletics Council approved the new dates this week after
extensive discussions with the sport’s stakeholders including organisers of
two other major championships due to take place in July-August 2022, the
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the multisport European
Championships in Munich.
The new schedule will prevent a direct conflict between any of these major
events and, with careful programming, will ensure athletes can compete in
up to three world-class competitions.
In an extraordinary international season for athletics, all three events
will be held across an unprecedent summer of sport. The World Championships
will begin a unique celebration of the sport, followed by the Commonwealth
Games and the European Athletics Championships as part of the European
Championships.
"This will be a bonanza for athletics fans around the world," World
Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.
"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 were also very
mindful that we did not want to damage the other major championships in
2022, because they are also very important to our sport.
"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.
"We would not have chosen to have three major championships back-to-back
but it will give us a unique opportunity to promote our sport and its stars
around the globe over a six-week period.
"I want to particularly thank Oregon 21 LLC and all its stakeholders for
their collaboration and flexibility as well as all World Athletics’
partners and broadcasters who are so critical to delivering the Games and
taking it into the homes of millions of fans."
Niels de Vos, Executive Director of the World Athletics Championships
Oregon 22, said: "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."
CGF President Louise Martin said: "I would like to thank the leadership of
World Athletics for a hugely constructive approach to working with the CGF.
Our collective objective has been to ensure that, in this unprecedented
time of global upheaval in all our lives, as well as its impact on the
international sports calendar, the interests of athletes are at the centre
of all decision-making. 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."
Libor Varhaník, Interim Chair of the European Championships Munich 2022,
said: "On behalf of all the stakeholders of the multi-sport European
Championships Munich 2022, I would like to thank World Athletics for
working constructively and collaboratively with us in finding a new event
date that respects the major events already scheduled in 2022. The
international sports calendar has been hugely impacted as we battle this
terrible global health crisis, and in discussions with World Athletics and
the Commonwealth Games Federation our mutual goal has been to put the
interest of our athletes at the forefront of our thoughts.
"The European Championships will continue to work closely with World
Athletics and the Commonwealth Games Federation to ensure that athletes,
media and sports fans are able to enjoy an amazing summer of sport across
three world-class events in 2022, from Oregon to Birmingham and culminating
in Munich in August on the 50th anniversary of its hosting of the Olympic
Games."
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