Japanese para athletes with visual impairments or severe disabilities have struggled to train due to the closure of facilities and the need to practice social distancing due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
The World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan have been rescheduled to 26 August-4 September 2022. The Kobe World Championships were initially scheduled for 17-26 September 2021 but have been shifted to 2022 to avoid a clash with the Paralympics.
Volunteers for the Paralympic Games said the postponement will provide extra time for preparing barrier-free access to venues and transportation.
IPC President, Andrew Parsons said: reaction:
“Postponing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak is absolutely the right thing to do. The health and well-being of human life must always be our number one priority and staging a sport event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible.”
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has begun sharing information about COVID-19 and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The International Paralympic Committee said Thursday it will stay the course in preparations for this summer’s Tokyo Games despite mounting concerns over the spread of coronavirus in Japan.
The event, originally scheduled as the Japan Para Championships Boccia and set to start on Friday at Ariake Gymnastics Centre, was postponed on Feb. 20. Instead, a smaller number of domestic athletes were expected to participate in a test.
