Diamond League events in Paris and Eugene, Oregon, became the latest on the coronavirus-ravaged athletics calendar to be scrapped yesterday. The Paris meeting had originally been pushed back from June until September 6 but was ultimately called off by organisers due to doubts over global travel and a lack of time to prepare a “world-class international event”.
The Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, scheduled for October 4, was also axed from the programme, with restrictions still in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in the west coast state. “The state of Oregon currently has a ban on large gatherings — including sporting events — and that restriction will be in place until at least the end of September,” Diamond League organisers said in a statement. “The ban, combined with the expected long term restrictions on international travel, make it impossible to host a world class track and field meet... on October 4th.”
Eugene will host the world athletics championships in 2022. The competition was moved back a year to accommodate the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. Four of the 15 Diamond League meetings have been cancelled, with Rabat and London also binned.
The circuit is due to start August 14 in Monaco followed by the Stockholm meeting nine days later.
The Gateshead event in northeast England could now be held September 12 but is still to be confirmed, organisers said. “Final confirmation cannot be given at this time due to UK Government guidelines and restrictions,” the statement said.
Fudge to step down
as British Athletics’
head of endurance
Barry Fudge will step down from his role as British Athletics’ Head of Endurance at the end of the month, the governing body said yesterday. Fudge was appointed to the role in December 2013 and was part of the team that guided Mo Farah to four Olympic gold medals.
However, he had come under increasing pressure over his ties to Farah’s former coach Alberto Salazar, who was given a four-year ban by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last year. Salazar was banned for “orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct” as head coach of the Nike Oregon Project, a camp designed mainly to develop US endurance athletes.
Fudge was the point of contact between UK Athletics and the Nike Oregon Project. Farah and Fudge have not been accused of any wrongdoing. “The time is right for me to move on, and I am looking forward to watching our athletes progress and succeed at future championships,” Fudge said in a statement.
“We’d like to thank Barry for his work for the organisation over the years. The recruitment of the new head coach and performance director will now take the organisation in to a new era,” UKA chief Joanna Coates said.
Fudge’s decision to step down comes a month after an independent review into UKA identified a “general culture of mistrust” within the organisation and concluded that the sport was not in a good position.
The Paris meeting had originally been pushed back from June until September 6 but has been ultimately called off. (Reuters)
