World Athletics Suspends Olympic Qualification Period Until December 1

Track and field governing body, World Athletics, announced on Tuesday the qualification period for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is suspended effective from 6 April 2020 until 30 November 2020.

It means that any results achieved between 6 April until 30 November at whichever competition will not be considered for Tokyo 2020 entry standards or world rankings.

During this period competition results will work only for statistical purposes, including for world records. However, they will not serve for qualifications such as Olympics and World championships.

"Subject to the global situation returning to normal, the qualification period will resume on 1 December 2020 and continue to the new qualification deadline in 2021 set by the International Olympic Committee (see qualification period table below). The total qualification period, which started in 2019, will be four months longer than it was originally." the World Athletics said.

 “I am grateful for the detailed work and feedback from our Athletes' Commission and Council who believe suspending Olympic qualification during this period gives more certainty for athlete planning and preparation and is the best way to address fairness in what is expected to be the uneven delivery of competition opportunities across the globe for athletes given the challenges of international travel and government border restrictions.” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.

Those athletes who have already achieved the entry standard will be eligible for the selection by their respective Member Federations and National Olympic Committees.