Racers Grand Prix postponed due to virus outbreak

The Racers Grand Prix, which was awarded gold status in the newly formed 2020 World Athletics Continental Tour, has been postponed due to the global impact of the novel coronavirus.

In a letter to the World Athletics Organisation dated Thursday, April 2, 2020 from meet organiser Glen Mills, the ferocity of the virus, the local and global restrictions on travelling and gatherings, the quarantine procedures, and the inconclusive timeline of the impact of the virus were noted as the basis on which the meet would be deferred.

“It is now clear that our only choice is to postpone the date of this year’s meeting of the Racers Grand Prix – Kingston Continental Tour Gold meeting,” stated Mills, who is also president of the Racers Track Club. “We are now hoping to be able to reschedule the meeting for a date in the latter half of August. Of course, this is subject to the agreement of World Athletics, in keeping with your overall schedule.  It is also subject to the availability of the stadium and the hotel on this new date.”

The meet, which was originally scheduled for June 13, 2020 in Kingston, was one of ten meets in the new series designed to accommodate athletes from several disciplines cut from the Diamond League for 2020. These included the triple jump, discus, 3000m steeplechase and 200m. For these core disciplines, ranking points would have been allotted at the same level as the Diamond League.