By Michael Pavitt |
Organizers of the United States Olympic trials for athletics are working with partners to refine the dates for the event, following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to 2021.
The trials had been scheduled to take place from June 19 to 28 at Hayward Field in Oregon.
The Olympic Games were then due to take place from 24 July and 9 August.
A decision was reached by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese Government last month to postpone the Games until 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tokyo 2020 and the IOC last week confirmed the rescheduled Games will be held from July 23 to August 8.
The decision means a late June timeframe appears likely for the US Olympic trials to be held next year.
TrackTown USA chief executive Michael Reilly said the Organizing Committee is working to devise the new schedule for the trials, following Tokyo 2020’s rescheduling.
“We’re working through those pieces with our partners at USA Track & Field and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee,” Reilly told Oregon Live.
“It’s complicated, there are lots of interrelated moving parts.
“Like all event organisers, we’re grappling with some of the complications that come with managing the postponement of a multi-day, major championship like the Olympic trials.
“It’s certainly a complex system.
“Each month you’re spending a little time weaving together all the different strands that need to come together to make the thing work.
“In order to get it postponed a year, in some ways you have to unwind and unweave some of those things you put together, get them realigned and then systemically work through the same process of weaving them back together.”
The trials are set to take place at the new Hayward Field stadium.
The reconstructed stadium has been built for the World Athletics Championships, which were due to take place in Eugene in 2021.
The venue, which is near completion, will be able to host 30,000 spectators during major events.
Tokyo 2020’s postponement to 2021 has also impacted on the World Athletics Championships.
World Athletics confirmed last week it was working with organizers in Oregon on new dates for the World Championships in 2022.
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.