Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifiers set for December

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe. [AFP]

World Athletics announced on Tuesday track and field qualification for next year’s Tokyo Olympics has been suspended until December 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Games have already been pushed back from this summer to 2021 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

“This period gives more certainty for athlete planning and preparation and is the best way to address fairness in what is expected to be the uneven delivery of competition opportunities across the globe for athletes given the challenges of international travel and government border restrictions,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a statement.

Competitors who have already reached the qualification standards will retain their places for the Games due to take place from July 23 to August 8 next year.

The deadline for the marathon and 50km walk will be May 31 in 2021 with June 29 the date for the remaining events.

World Athletics’ global rankings have also been frozen.

The season is set to begin in June but any results before the restart date will not count.

Meanwhile, the governing body of athletics aims to become carbon neutral by 2030, it said on Tuesday, recognising that the sport has a significant environmental footprint.

Promising to cut its carbon output by 10 per cent a year, World Athletics said in a statement that it would cut travel and rely more on local expertise, and that all events sanctioned by it would also have to commit to carbon neutrality targets.

Coe said that athletes and fans “expect us to be a good global citizen, to take a leadership role in issues that affect the wider world and their communities.”

It said that athletics, including major world championships, produced “a significant carbon footprint” [Agencies]