Wanda Diamond League announces modified schedule, including Nike Pre Classic on October 4th...
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| Washington alum Mel Lawrence at the 2019 Nike Prefontaine Classic (Howard Lao photo) |
In recent weeks, the Wanda Diamond League has been forced to suspend a number of its meetings as a result of health and logistical concerns brought about by the global coronavirus crisis.
The meeting organizers, the Wanda Diamond League and World Athletics have remained committed to staging competitions athletes can compete in and fans can enjoy athletics as soon as the global pandemic allows.
This provisional calendar will see a number of Wanda Diamond League meetings go ahead as one-off, exhibition events, while others will be staged as adapted Wanda Diamond League meetings. There will be no events in July and the first half of August (other than National Championships where possible), and the season will instead be extended into October.
The Diamond League series will begin in Monaco on August 14th and proceed on to Gateshead (UK) two days later, and Stockholm (SWE) on the 23rd.
September will see five meets on the calendar starting in Lausanne (SUI) on the 2nd; Brussels (BEL) on the 4th; Paris (FRA) on the 6th; either Rome or Naples (ITA) on the 17th; and Shanghai (CHN) on the 19th.
The truncated Diamond League season ends with the Nike Prefontaine Classic on October 4th, followed by Doha (QAT) on the 9th, and a second meet in China (venue TBA) on the 17th.
Meets in Rabat (MAR), Zürich (SUI) and London (GBR) are cancelled. Zürich will host the '21 and '22 Wanda Diamond League finals, as a result. The Nike Prefontaine Classic was originally slated to host the 2022 Wanda Diamond League finals, but will defer to 2023.
Ken Goe of the Oregonian spoke to Nike Prefontaine Classic meet director Tom Jordan, who said that, “It will depend on travel restrictions and how virulent the virus is at that point.”
The meet will also depend on whether or not Oregon governor Kate Brown decides to extend the ban of large gatherings through September. Jordan said that the meet is prepared to go on without spectators.
The Wanda Diamond League release is available here.
In a related announcement, World Athletics announced a truncated Continental Tour Gold series of six meets, with all but one meet in Europe (Nairobi, Kenya on September 26th).
Additionally, there are tentative plans for two Continental Tour Gold meets in Tokyo and Nanjing, with dates to be announced by the local organizers in conjunction with World Athletics.
COLLEGE NEWS...
In the last month, Washington State, Gonzaga, and Washington announced recent additions to their roster on their Instagram pages.
Among Gonzaga's additions are: Jeremiah Mackie (Surrey, BC), Aidan Baughan (Las Vegas), Jillian Greene (Wilsonville, OR), Stanford Smith (Kennewick), Cooper Laird (Inglemoor), Michael Lewis & Nicky Dimartino (Blanchet), Ireland Robertson (Toronto ON), in addition to 2017 USA world U20 cross country team member Kristen Garcia of Sedro Wooley.
Washington State recently signed: Audrey Hughes (Canyon, Texas), Madelyn George (Richland), Nick Jenkins (Ridgefield), Jacob Easton (Spokane Valley), Pascal Kleyer (Karlsruhe, Germany), and Alaina Stone-Boggs (Colville).
The University of Washington announced that Mercer Island HS grad Victoria Gersch will complete her collegiate eligibility with the school.
Gersch competed the last three seasons at William & Mary, where she was fifth at the IC4A/ECAC championships this winter in the 400, running 55.40, a mark that would be seventh on the UW indoor top-10 list.
NOTE: The Wanda Diamond League, World Athletics, and the sports information offices of Gonzaga, Washington State, and the University of Washington contributed to this report.
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