After months of intensive work and consultation with London&rsquo;s authorities, organisers of the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum label race, today confirmed that the race's 40th edition will go ahead on Sunday 4 October as an elite-only event.
The race will take place on an enclosed looped course in St James&rsquo;s Park in a "secure biosphere", a contained safe environment like that of Formula 1 and England cricket, with performances eligible for Olympic qualification.
The long-awaited head-to-head between Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia will headline the men&rsquo;s race while world record holder Brigid Kosgei of Kenya heads the women&rsquo;s.
There will be no spectator access to maintain the biosphere but BBC Sport plans to broadcast eight hours of coverage during the day.
&ldquo;We have been working for months on a number of different scenarios with the health and safety of our runners, our charities, our sponsors, our volunteers, our medics, our communities and our city always our priority,&rdquo; said Hugh Brasher, the marathon's Event Director.
&ldquo;We had detailed plans to deliver a socially distanced mass participation event &ndash; either a run or a walk &ndash; and we were planning to utilise new technology to do this.
&ldquo;Despite all our efforts, the fantastic support from all of our partners and the progress that has been made on planning for the return of smaller mass participation events that are not on the roads, it has not been possible to go ahead with a mass socially distanced walk or run."
Full details of the elite races and the elite fields will be announced later this month.
Organisers for World Athletics

After months of intensive work and consultation with London’s authorities, organisers of the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum label race, today confirmed that the race's 40th edition will go ahead on Sunday 4 October as an elite-only event.


After months of intensive work and consultation with London’s authorities, organisers of the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum label race, today confirmed that the race's 40th edition will go ahead on Sunday 4 October as an elite-only event.
The race will take place on an enclosed looped course in St James’s Park in a "secure biosphere", a contained safe environment like that of Formula 1 and England cricket, with performances eligible for Olympic qualification.
The long-awaited head-to-head between Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia will headline the men’s race while world record holder Brigid Kosgei of Kenya heads the women’s.
There will be no spectator access to maintain the biosphere but BBC Sport plans to broadcast eight hours of coverage during the day.
“We have been working for months on a number of different scenarios with the health and safety of our runners, our charities, our sponsors, our volunteers, our medics, our communities and our city always our priority,” said Hugh Brasher, the marathon's Event Director.
“We had detailed plans to deliver a socially distanced mass participation event – either a run or a walk – and we were planning to utilise new technology to do this.
“Despite all our efforts, the fantastic support from all of our partners and the progress that has been made on planning for the return of smaller mass participation events that are not on the roads, it has not been possible to go ahead with a mass socially distanced walk or run."
Full details of the elite races and the elite fields will be announced later this month.
Organisers for World Athletics

London Marathon to go ahead as elite-only race

World 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will headline the 5000m field at the Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Ostrava, Czech Republic on 8 September.&nbsp;
Hassan is the top name announced by organisers today to mark one month to go to the meeting's 59th edition.
Primary among the 27-year-old Dutchwoman's ambitions will the meeting record of 14:30.18 set by Meseret Defar in 2007.
&ldquo;Going back to Ostrava to compete at the Golden Spike is very special to me," she said.
"Back in 2013 it was the Golden Spike that gave me the chance to run for the first time at a big international competition. It was a surprise to me that I won this race. After that I was able to compete at the highest level. So Ostrava means a lot to me and I really look forward to compete there again."
Hassan clocked 4:04.02 to win on that occasion, a PB in that early stage of her international career. She's gone on to clock 3:51.95 and 14:22.12 for the 5000m, both among her wide-ranging collection of European records.
This year's 1500m race will feature 22-year-old Jemma Reekie of Great Britain, a double winner at last year's European U23 Championships whose breakthrough 2020 indoor season included personal bests with 1:57.91 and 4:00.52 in the 800m and 1500m, respectively. Organisers are hoping she can mount an assault on Gudaf Tsegay's meeting record of 4:00.96 from 2017.
Poland's 2018 European Championships medallist Sofia Ennaoui (4:01.00 PB) and Simona Vrzalova, who was fifth at the last edition of the European championships and who is from Ostrava, are also in the field.
Reekie's well-known training partner, the continental European indoor and outdoor 1500m champion Laura Muir, will headline the 800m. She has a 1:58.42 career best and is certainly targeting another sub-two minute performance. She'll take on top Czech runner Diana Mezulianikova and Slovak Gabriela Gajanova.&nbsp;
Organisers for World Athletics

World 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will headline the 5000m field at the Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Ostrava, Czech Republic on 8 September. 

Sifan Hassan Ostrava 5000m Continental Tour

Hassan set for Ostrava 5000m

Jumpers Yuki Hashioka and Naoto Tobe have joined the fields for the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.
Hashioka, the 2018 world U20 champion and World Championships finalist last year, will head the field in the long jump while Tobe, the World Indoor Tour winner in the high jump in 2019, heads the field in the high jump.
&ldquo;The meet will take place at the National Stadium, this summer when the Olympic Games were supposed to take place. This is a precious opportunity for us," said Hashioka, who competed just once this year, finishing fourth at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Madrid in February. "It&rsquo;s just like a pre-Olympic competition and I want to deliver my best performance."
Hashioki emerged as one of the top long jumping talents on the planet in 2018 when he jumped to world U20 gold in Tampere, Finland. He improved his career best to 8.32m in 2019, and struck gold at both the Asian Championships and World University Games last year before capping his season with an eighth place finish at the World Championships in Doha.
"Nationally, we may be seeing an increase in COVID19 cases, but many thanks to the hard work by the healthcare workers, we can compete. I will express my appreciation in the pit, with a strong jump.
"Fans may not be in the stadium this year and even if it&rsquo;s through television, their support mean so much to all of us athletes.&nbsp;
Hashioka will face Shotaro Shiroyama, another Doha finalist, who improved the Japanese national record to 8.40m last year.
Tobe, who improved to 2.35m indoors in 2019, will take on Takashi Eto, a 2.30m jumper.
Others athletes confirmed include pole vaulters Daichi Sawano, Seito Yamamoto and Masaki Ejima, all 5.71m men last season, and Ryohei Arai who'll lead the field in the men's javelin throw.
Yuka Sato, the 2011 Asian Championships bronze medallist, tops the women's javelin throw field.&nbsp;
Given the travel restrictions in Japan at the moment, the meeting will largely be a national competition.
Organisers for World Athletics

Jumpers Yuki Hashioka and Naoto Tobe have joined the fields for the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.

Hashioka Tobe join Golden Grand Prix fields

Hashioka and Tobe join Golden Grand Prix fields

Organisers of the Seiko Golden Grand Prix have announced another wave of Japanese stars &ndash; including four national record-holders &ndash; for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.
World U20 3000m champion Nozomi Tanaka will head to Tokyo looking to extend her winning streak. The 20-year-old won four consecutive races last month and broke the Japanese 3000m record with 8:41.35 in Fukagawa. She will contest the 1500m in the Japanese capital and after going to No.2 on the Japanese all-time list with 4:08.68 last month, she will have one eye on the national record of 4:07.86.
Sprint hurdlers Shunya Takayama and Asuka Terada will also be in action at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix. Takayama twice equalled the Japanese 110m hurdles record of 13.36 last year before breaking it outright with 13.30 and then reducing it further to 13.25. He capped his 2019 campaign by reaching the semifinals of the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Terada set two national records last year in the 100m hurdles, first with 13.00 and then with 12.97 two weeks later.
"I am so happy to race at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix 2020 Tokyo," said Terada. "We are fortunate to have this event despite the pandemic. From the bottom of my heart, I&rsquo;d like to express my respect and gratitude to all the medical workers and people involved in preparing this stage on which we feel safe and we can focus on our performance.
"This would be my first race of the season and my return to the Golden Grand Prix for the first time in nine years, since the first edition in 2011. I'm really excited to race in the new stadium that will be the venue for the Olympic Games next year. I will race as if this were the actual Olympic Games!
"I will miss the fans in the stadium but with television coverage and internet streaming fans won&rsquo;t need to miss us."
Sho Kawamoto is the fourth national record-holder who will be racing in Tokyo. The 27-year-old won the 800m at the 2014 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo in a Japanese record of 1:45.75.
Other confirmed athletes include Olympic 4x100m silver medallist Shota Iizuka and world 4x100m bronze medallist Kirara Shiraishi, who will clash in the men&rsquo;s 200m, and rising Japanese stars Midori Mikase in the 100m and Reimi Yoshimura in the steeplechase, the national U20 record-holders in their respective events.

Organisers of the Seiko Golden Grand Prix have announced another wave of Japanese stars – including four national record-holders – for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.


Organisers of the Seiko Golden Grand Prix have announced another wave of Japanese stars – including four national record-holders – for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.
World U20 3000m champion Nozomi Tanaka will head to Tokyo looking to extend her winning streak. The 20-year-old won four consecutive races last month and broke the Japanese 3000m record with 8:41.35 in Fukagawa. She will contest the 1500m in the Japanese capital and after going to No.2 on the Japanese all-time list with 4:08.68 last month, she will have one eye on the national record of 4:07.86.
Sprint hurdlers Shunya Takayama and Asuka Terada will also be in action at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix. Takayama twice equalled the Japanese 110m hurdles record of 13.36 last year before breaking it outright with 13.30 and then reducing it further to 13.25. He capped his 2019 campaign by reaching the semifinals of the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Terada set two national records last year in the 100m hurdles, first with 13.00 and then with 12.97 two weeks later.
"I am so happy to race at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix 2020 Tokyo," said Terada. "We are fortunate to have this event despite the pandemic. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to express my respect and gratitude to all the medical workers and people involved in preparing this stage on which we feel safe and we can focus on our performance.
"This would be my first race of the season and my return to the Golden Grand Prix for the first time in nine years, since the first edition in 2011. I'm really excited to race in the new stadium that will be the venue for the Olympic Games next year. I will race as if this were the actual Olympic Games!
"I will miss the fans in the stadium but with television coverage and internet streaming fans won’t need to miss us."
Sho Kawamoto is the fourth national record-holder who will be racing in Tokyo. The 27-year-old won the 800m at the 2014 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo in a Japanese record of 1:45.75.
Other confirmed athletes include Olympic 4x100m silver medallist Shota Iizuka and world 4x100m bronze medallist Kirara Shiraishi, who will clash in the men’s 200m, and rising Japanese stars Midori Mikase in the 100m and Reimi Yoshimura in the steeplechase, the national U20 record-holders in their respective events.

Seiko Golden Grand Prix Tokyo 2020 Tanaka

Japanese record-holders confirmed for Golden Grand Prix

French pole vault legend Renaud Lavillenie, British middle distance star Laura Muir and high jump sensation Yaroslava Mahuchikh are the latest confirmations for the LOTTO Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, set for Chorzow on 6 September.
An exciting duel is expected in the men's pole vault, where Lavillenie will take on Polish star Piotr Lisek. The two have a long-standing rivalry, with Lavillenie leading 42-19 in head-to-head encounters. But the Pole turned the tables last year and will hope to continue the trend.
&ldquo;Among the vaulters the atmosphere is great, we like to joke around, as well as support each other,&rdquo; Lisek said. &ldquo;But when it comes to competition, each of us focuses on the battle and on his own goals.&rdquo;
Muir, the reigning European 1500m champion with a 3:55.22 lifetime best, will headline that event. She&rsquo;ll face Polish star Sofia Ennaoui, who finished second to Muir over the distance at the most recent editions of the European indoor and outdoor championships. Ennaoui, known for her spectacular finishes, will be hoping to challenge the British star in front of a home audience.
Another reigning European champion, Elvira Herman from Belarus, will be in action in the 100m hurdles. This race will also feature a strong Polish challenger in the form of Karolina Koleczek, with a best of 12.75 from last year.
The women's high jump competition is also shaping up to be exciting, with three World Championships medalists in attendance. The world U20 record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine, still only 18, is the 2019 silver medalist with a best of 2.04m. Joining her in Chorzow will be her countrywoman Yuliya Levchenko, World Championships runner-up in 2017 and the Pole Kamila Licwinko, the bronze medalist that year.&nbsp;
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/768b931d-b1e3-412f-928f-62799d02737b.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333" />
They'll join two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers, 2017 world javelin throw champion Johannes Vetter and reigning world discus throw champion Daniel Stahl, who have been previously announced.
Many of Poland's other top athletes will also be competing. Some of the confirmed stars include 1500m world medallist Marcin Lewandowski, shot putters Michal Haratyk and Konrad Bukowiecki, standout hammer throwers Pawel Fajdek and Wojciech Nowicki, European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and European indoor 60m champion Ewa Swoboda.
In accordance with current Polish sanitary laws and social distancing regulations, attendance in the Silesian Stadium will be limited to 50% of the stadium's capacity, which will allow 27,000 spectators to watch the meet live.
Organisers for World Athletics

French pole vault legend Renaud Lavillenie, British middle distance star Laura Muir and high jump sensation Yaroslava Mahuchikh are the latest confirmations for the LOTTO Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, set for Chorzow on 6 September.

Lavillenie Muir Mahuchikh Skolimowska Memorial

Lavillenie, Muir and Mahuchikh join Chorzow cast

The Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar, with the date for the Doha Diamond League brought forward by around a fortnight.
The fifth meeting of the season was scheduled for 9 October after it could not be held as the traditional season opener in April, but will now take place instead on 25 September.
The plan is to stage 12 disciplines. A list of athletes who will compete in the Qatari capital will be announced in due course.
Due to the ongoing global health situation and ever-changing COVID-19 regulations, the 2020 Wanda Diamond League calendar remains provisional and subject to further changes.
Following exhibition events in Oslo and Zurich earlier this summer, the competitive season is set to begin in Monaco on 14 August.
The 2020 Wanda Diamond League will not be a structured series of events leading to a final as is usually the case. Athletes will therefore not earn Diamond League points this season, and there will not be a single, 24-discipline final in Zurich as originally planned.
A total of six meetings, including a street event, are currently scheduled to go ahead between August 14th and September 25th. Click <a href="https://www.diamondleague.com/calendar/">here</a> to view the latest calendar in full.
Wanda Diamond League for World Athletics

The Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar, with the date for the Doha Diamond League brought forward by around a fortnight.

Doha Diamond League rescheduled 25 September

Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha rescheduled to 25 September

Last update: 3 August
Here is a round-up of updates relating to international competitions, from cancellations to postponements and confirmations.
This page covers announcements made since the start of July. Up until the end of June, most other significant announcements were incorporated into our <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/iaaf-news/coronavirus-updates-athletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'new normal'</a> reporting pages.
If you're a competition organiser and have news to share regarding the staging of your event, please <a href="mailto:editor@worldathletics.org">share it with us</a>.
&nbsp;
<h3>Doha Diamond League (25 Sep 2020) - rescheduled</h3>
The 2020 Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar, with the date for the Doha Diamond League brought forward by around a fortnight.&nbsp;The fifth meeting of the season was scheduled for 9 October after it could not be held as the traditional season opener in April, but will now take place instead on 25 September.The plan is to stage 12 disciplines. A list of athletes who will compete in the Qatari capital will be announced in due course. <a href="https://www.diamondleague.com/news/general/news/detail/News/new-date-for-doha-meeting/">Annoucement</a> (3 August)
&nbsp;
<h3>Valencia Half Marathon 2020 - cancelled</h3>
The 2020 Medio Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP, scheduled for Sunday 25 October has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
In a statement, the organisers said: "SD Correcaminos (running club), the organiser of the Valencia Half-Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, after fully appraising the health situation and consulting all the authorities involved, hereby announces the cancellation of the 30th edition of the race. The results of the appraisal and consultation showed that it was impossible to go ahead with the race, which was scheduled for the 25th of October 2020." <a href="https://www.valenciaciudaddelrunning.com/en/statement-valencia-half-marathon-valencia-trinidad-alfonso-edp/">Announcement</a> (30 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Great Ethiopian Run (15 Nov 2020) - postponed</h3>
"The 20th edition of TOTAL Great Ethiopian Run International 10km was scheduled to be held on 15 November 2020. However, due to the current situation of Covid-19, we are forced to postpone the race. We will announce the new date on a later date. Please bear with us while we work through the details to deliver the 20th edition of our flagship race." <a href="https://ethiopianrun.org/en/races/international-10k">Announcement</a> (27 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Nanjing Continental Tour Gold Meeting 2020 - cancelled</h3>
Following the decision taken by China's National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, organisers of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nanjing have announced that the competition will not go ahead this year. <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/news/nanjing-continental-tour-meeting-2020-cancell">Announcement</a> (25 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Shanghai Diamond League (19 Sep 2020) - cancelled</h3>
Following the decision taken by the National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, we are sorry to announce that the 2020 Shanghai Diamond League will not go ahead as planned on 19th September. The meeting will return next year, taking its traditional place as one of the early-season events in the Diamond League calendar. <a href="https://www.diamondleague.com/news/general/news/detail/News/2020-shanghai-wanda-diamond-league-meeting-cancelled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a> (24 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>M&uuml;ller Grand Prix, Gateshead (12 Sep 2020) - cancelled</h3>
The Wanda Diamond League today announced a further change to its 2020 calendar. The M&uuml;ller Grand Prix in Gateshead, UK, scheduled for 12 September to have been the fifth competitive meeting of the season, has been cancelled. <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/wanda-diamond-league-gateshead-cancelled" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a> (23 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>ISTAF (13 Sep 2020) -&nbsp;confirmed</h3>
&ldquo;With 3500 spectators instead of 45,000, the ISTAF will certainly be different this time, but it may be a first small step back to normal," said meeting director Martin Seeber. "We want to set an example for sport and be a beacon for athletics." <a href="https://www.leichtathletik.de/news/news/detail/73598-istaf-lebt-gruenes-licht-fuer-leichtathletik-meeting-mit-3500-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(21 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Hamburg Marathon (13 Sep 2020) - cancelled</h3>
Major sporting events in Hamburg, which have been postponed until late summer and autumn 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has been raging since spring 2020, will no longer take place this year, but will be postponed until 2021. <a href="https://www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(21 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Madrid Half Marathon (4 Oct 2020) - cancelled</h3>
"The organisation of the Movistar Madrid Half Marathon and the ProFuturo Race announce the cancellation of the 2020 edition, originally scheduled for 29 March and which, due to the coronavirus health emergency, was postponed to 4 October. The circumstances are still not ideal for the celebration of these two sporting events with a joint participation of close to 20,000 people, and the prospect for the coming months does not offer security guarantees for participants, spectators, volunteers and the organisation team either." <a href="https://www.mediomaratonmadrid.es/web-noticia/leer/comunicado-no-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(21 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Rotterdam Marathon (24-25 Oct 2020) - postponed</h3>
"With pain in our hearts we have decided to reschedule the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The NN Marathon Rotterdam is now scheduled to take place on the 10th and 11th of April 2021. Every individual runner with a place in the 2020 edition will be able to use their place in the rescheduled event." <a href="https://www.nnmarathonrotterdam.org/info/covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(20 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon (7 Feb 2021) -&nbsp;cancelled</h3>
"The 75th anniversary running of the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon scheduled for 7 February 2021 will not take place. After careful consideration we determined that, with no visible end to the coronavirus crisis in sight, for the health and safety of participants, volunteers, staff, medical and rescue personnel, fans along the course and everyone else involved with our event, our 75th running must be postponed for one year." <a href="https://katsutamarathon.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/announcement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(20 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Meeting Liege (9 Sep 2020) -&nbsp;cancelled</h3>
"There will be no 19th edition of the Meeting International d'Athl&eacute;tisme de la Province de Li&egrave;ge this year. The applicable corona measures meant it is not possible to organise the event properly later this summer. The 19th edition can take place in July 2021 and we are also looking forward to the 20th anniversary of this international event in 2022." <a href="https://www.sport.be/meetingliege/2019/nl/nieuws/article.html?Article_ID=885354" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(16 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 - postponed</h3>
Senegal and the International Olympic Committee have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 to 2026. This postponement meets the requirement of responsibility and the concern for efficiency imposed by current circumstances. <a href="https://www.olympic.org/news/senegal-and-the-ioc-agree-to-postpone-the-youth-olympic-games-dakar-2022-to-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(15 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Great Birmingham Run (11 Oct 2020) - cancelled</h3>
"There&rsquo;s no option to stage the event as planned, or at a later date in the year." <a href="https://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(15 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Chicago Marathon (11 Oct 2020) - cancelled</h3>
Event organisers and the City of Chicago announced the decision to cancel the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and all race weekend activities in response to the ongoing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://www.chicagomarathon.com/cancellation/2020-event-cancellation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(13 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Toronto Marathon (18 Oct 2020) - cancelled</h3>
Working closely with the City of Toronto and Mayor John Tory, event organisers Canada Running Series have made the decision to cancel the event due to Covid-19 related health and safety concerns. "We are pleased to announce that we will be transitioning to a virtual event this year, to continue to offer the best possible running and fundraising goals in these challenging times." <a href="http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/transition-to-virtual/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(13 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Athens Authentic Marathon (8 Nov 2020) - confirmed</h3>
In accordance with the Protocol for Road Races approved by the Health Committee of the General Secretariat of Sports for Sports and the Ministry of Sports, SEGAS (Hellenic Athletics Federation) and its partners have taken up further actions and announce today that, given the current circumstances, the 2020 Athens Marathon will be staged as planned on 7-8 November 2020. <a href="https://www.athensauthenticmarathon.gr/site/index.php/en/news-en/news-articles-en/84-news-2020-en/619-aam-2020-new-packages-and-registrations-en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(13 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Seiko Golden Grand Prix Tokyo (23 Aug 2020) - postponed</h3>
Originally set to take place on 10 May, the Seiko Golden Grand Prix &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; will now be held on Sunday 23 August. &ldquo;Only domestic athletes will participate,&rdquo; read a statement on the meeting&rsquo;s website. &ldquo;We are also considering allowing high school athletes to play a role. Details will be announced once they are confirmed.&rdquo; <a href="http://goldengrandprix-japan.com/2020/news/article/13908/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(13 July)
&nbsp;
<h3>Paris Marathon (15 Nov 2020) - postponed</h3>
Having already been rescheduled from 5 April to 18 October, organisers of the Paris Marathon have pushed the date back to 15 November. "We will, of course, be monitoring the situation as it develops," they said, "and will be carefully respecting the directives of the health authorities and state services with whom we are cooperating closely." <a href="https://www.schneiderelectricparismarathon.com/en/event/news#news-283-the-schneider-electric-marathon-de-paris-will-take-place-on-15-november-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Announcement</a>&nbsp;(6 July)
&nbsp;

Here is a round-up of updates relating to international competitions, from cancellations to postponements and confirmations.

International competitions cancellation postponements 2020

Competition updates

Five of the fastest 11 Japanese men of all time will line up in the 100m at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.
Asian champion Yoshihide Kiryu, the first Japanese athlete to break the 10-second barrier, has a 9.98 career best as does Yuki Koike, who clocked his at the Diamond League meeting in London Last year.
They'll be joined by Ryota Yamagata, who has clocked 10.00, and Shuhei Tada, who led off Japan's bronze-winning quartet at the past two World Championships. Kiryu and Koike (heats) were also on the 4x100m relay squad in Doha.
Aska Cambridge, a 4x100m relay Olympic silver medallist in Rio four years ago, will also be in the field.
Given the travel restrictions that Japan currently faces, the meeting will be largely a national competition, while a few Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes who compete for Japanese professional clubs may also take part.
Organisers will also provide some of Japan's finest high school athletes an opportunity to compete against their nation's best athletes on the Olympic Stadium track.
After the Interscholastic Sport Games, the national high school championships, were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers decided to add what they have dubbed as 'Dream Lanes' to nine men's events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, long jump, javelin) and nine women's events (100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, long jump, javelin) where one or two high school athletes will be included on the start list with the chance to compete head-to-head with Japan's elites.
High school athletes wishing to compete will apply through the JAAF, the country's national federation.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics

Five of the fastest 11 Japanese men of all time will line up in the 100m at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.


Five of the fastest 11 Japanese men of all time will line up in the 100m at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo on 23 August.
Asian champion Yoshihide Kiryu, the first Japanese athlete to break the 10-second barrier, has a 9.98 career best as does Yuki Koike, who clocked his at the Diamond League meeting in London Last year.
They'll be joined by Ryota Yamagata, who has clocked 10.00, and Shuhei Tada, who led off Japan's bronze-winning quartet at the past two World Championships. Kiryu and Koike (heats) were also on the 4x100m relay squad in Doha.
Aska Cambridge, a 4x100m relay Olympic silver medallist in Rio four years ago, will also be in the field.
Given the travel restrictions that Japan currently faces, the meeting will be largely a national competition, while a few Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes who compete for Japanese professional clubs may also take part.
Organisers will also provide some of Japan's finest high school athletes an opportunity to compete against their nation's best athletes on the Olympic Stadium track.
After the Interscholastic Sport Games, the national high school championships, were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers decided to add what they have dubbed as 'Dream Lanes' to nine men's events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, long jump, javelin) and nine women's events (100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, long jump, javelin) where one or two high school athletes will be included on the start list with the chance to compete head-to-head with Japan's elites.
High school athletes wishing to compete will apply through the JAAF, the country's national federation.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics

Tokyo continental tour men 100m

Tokyo announces men's 100m field

Last year's breakout triple jump star Hugues Fabrice Zango and world long jump silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk have joined the horizontal jumps fields for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar on 19 August.
Zango extended his own African triple jump record with a 17.66m effort at the World Championships last year to take bronze in the event. The 27-year-old from Burkina Faso was on fire indoors this year, breaking the African indoor record with a 17.77m leap in Paris and winning each of his four appearances before the coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a halt.
In the Hungarian city, Zango will face previously announced Christian Taylor of the US, the three-time world champion, and Pedro Pablo Pichardo, one of just six men who have soared beyond 18 metres.
Long jumper Bekh-Romanchuk also returns to outdoor action after a strong 2019 campaign which brought the Ukrainian her first global medal with a 6.92m near-PB effort in Doha. The 25-year-old was the picture of consistency indoors this year, jumping 6.92m, 6.96m, 6.90m and 6.90m again to win each of her four starts on the World Athletics Indoor Tour. She'll face local star Petra Farkas, the European U23 silver medallist.
The 100m hurdles field is filling out nicely, with Elvira Herman of Belarus, the European champion, and Dutchwoman Nadine Visser, the continent's indoor 60m hurdles champion, signing on.
Other recent announcements include Switzerland's world 200m bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji, who'll be contesting that event, and world discus champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden, who'll be headlining his.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics

Last year's breakout triple jump star Hugues Fabrice Zango and 2019 world long jump silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk have joined the horizontal jumps fields for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar on 19 August.


Last year's breakout triple jump star Hugues Fabrice Zango and world long jump silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk have joined the horizontal jumps fields for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar on 19 August.
Zango extended his own African triple jump record with a 17.66m effort at the World Championships last year to take bronze in the event. The 27-year-old from Burkina Faso was on fire indoors this year, breaking the African indoor record with a 17.77m leap in Paris and winning each of his four appearances before the coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a halt.
In the Hungarian city, Zango will face previously announced Christian Taylor of the US, the three-time world champion, and Pedro Pablo Pichardo, one of just six men who have soared beyond 18 metres.
Long jumper Bekh-Romanchuk also returns to outdoor action after a strong 2019 campaign which brought the Ukrainian her first global medal with a 6.92m near-PB effort in Doha. The 25-year-old was the picture of consistency indoors this year, jumping 6.92m, 6.96m, 6.90m and 6.90m again to win each of her four starts on the World Athletics Indoor Tour. She'll face local star Petra Farkas, the European U23 silver medallist.
The 100m hurdles field is filling out nicely, with Elvira Herman of Belarus, the European champion, and Dutchwoman Nadine Visser, the continent's indoor 60m hurdles champion, signing on.
Other recent announcements include Switzerland's world 200m bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji, who'll be contesting that event, and world discus champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden, who'll be headlining his.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics

Gyulai Memorial Zango Bekh Romanchuk

Zango and Bekh-Romanchuk join Szekesfehervar jumps fields

Organisers of the Herculis meeting have confirmed the participation of four more global champions for the Wanda Diamond League fixture in Monaco on 14 August.
World 800m champion and 2019 Diamond League winner Donavan Brazier will make his Herculis debut. The 23-year-old US middle-distance runner set a North American record of 1:42.34 to win the world title in Doha last year. His form this year is promising too, having clocked a North American indoor 800m record of 1:44.22 back in February and a 1500m PB of 3:35.85 in Portland earlier this month.
World steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech will return to the scene of her world record clocking of 8:44.32 from two years ago. The Kenyan&rsquo;s last race was a victory at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Dusseldorf in February, where she clocked a Kenyan indoor 1500m record of 4:02.09.
Like Brazier, world 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway will be competing in Monaco for the first time. Following a string of record-breaking feats on the US collegiate scene, the 22-year-old turned professional last year and went on to win the world title in Doha.
Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has also been confirmed for Monaco. Having finished third over 100m in 2018 and second in the 200m last year, the Jamaican sprinter will move back down to the shorter distance and she&rsquo;ll be keen to achieve her first victory at the Stade Louis II.
European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic of Poland is another addition to the Herculis line-up. Along with her four continental titles, the 27-year-old owns four global medals in the 4x400m.

Organisers of the Herculis meeting have confirmed the participation of four more global champions for the Wanda Diamond League fixture in Monaco on 14 August.

Monaco Diamond League Brazier Holloway Chepkoech

World champions Brazier, Chepkoech and Holloway confirmed for Monaco

World pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis features on the latest World Athletics podcast.
The young Swede talks about his road to Tokyo, which has now been extended by a year, and reflects on his record-breaking performances during the 2020 indoor season. 
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l2j5-vB--hk" width="500" height="280" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Download it for free via <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/iaaf-inside-athletics-podcast/id1340268954?mt=2&amp;ls=1&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">iTunes</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7vIXY6UZTkopeqoMsV4aQN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a>.
All past episodes, including links to the podcast on a range of streaming platforms, can be found on <a href="https://audioboom.com/channels/4942781" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Audioboom</a>.

World pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis features on the latest World Athletics podcast.

World Athletics podcast latest episode

World Athletics podcast – Mondo Duplantis

Following the decision taken by China's National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, organisers of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nanjing have announced that the competition will not go ahead this year.
The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place on 13 May and organisers had been hoping to postpone it until later this year before China's National Administration of Sports made their recent announcement.
While the Continental Tour Gold meetings in Kingston and Hengelo have also been cancelled for 2020, seven meetings still remain on the tour: Turku (11 Aug), Sz&eacute;kesfeh&eacute;rv&aacute;r (19 Aug), Tokyo (23 Aug), Silesia (6 Sep), Ostrava (8 Sep), Zagreb (15 Sep) and Nairobi (26 Sep).
World Athletics

Following the decision taken by China's National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, organisers of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nanjing have announced that the competition will not go ahead this year.