ATHLETICS

European Championships cancellation delivers another blow to athletics

Athletics was left with the prospect of a lost season on Thursday after this summer's European Championships, set to be held in Paris, were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the event's organising committee and French Athletics Federation (FFA) said they "wished to adopt a responsible position by putting human health and the fight against the spread of the virus before any other consideration".

The championships were scheduled for August 25-30. The cancellation follows the postponement in March of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 and the announcement earlier on Thursday of the postponement of Diamond League events in Eugene, Oregon, and Paris.

Kenyan runner Wanjiru suspended for doping

Kenyan runner Daniel Kinyua Wanjiru, a former winner of the London Marathon, has been suspended due to irregularities in his biological passport, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old won the prestigious London race in 2017 and was fifth in the 2018 New York Marathon.

"The AIU has provisionally suspended marathon specialist Daniel Kinyua Wanjiru of Kenya with immediate effect for an Athlete Biological Passport violation under the @worldathletics anti-doping rules," the AIU said on Twitter.

He was suspended for "use of a prohibited substance/method".

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Olympic flame to be kept in Tokyo

The Olympic flame will be displayed in Fukushima for a month before being kept in Tokyo, local reports said on Sunday.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said that the flame, which arrived in Japan from Athens on March 20, will be on display in J-Villiage, Fukushima from April.

"The show will be managed carefully to avoid coronavirus spread," the report said. "It would be suspended should there is a big crowd."

The flame will be brought back to Tokyo but Tokyo 2020 has not decided where to keep it before the torch relay starts next year.

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Athletes qualified for Tokyo 2020 will keep 2021 spots

Athletes who had already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before they were postponed will keep their places when the showpiece takes place in 2021, sources told AFP on Thursday.

Around 57% of the 11 000 scheduled participants for Tokyo had already made sure of taking part when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) pushed the Games back to 2021 due to the coronavirus on Tuesday.

The IOC and 32 international sports federations held a teleconference on Thursday where it was decided to respect the qualification process.