Finland, the Czech Republic and Norway are all preparing for track meets in June

After weeks and weeks of race cancellations, there’s finally some good news coming from the world of track and field: meets are set to be held in Norway, the Czech Republic and Finland in June.

Each of the meets will have limited events and restrictions on the number of people present, but professional track and field will officially be back all the same. They aren’t the Diamond League or Olympic competitions you’d expected to watch this summer, but they’ll be something to watch, and hopefully a sign of more events to come.

Norway’s the Impossible Games will be held in Oslo on June 11, the same date that was set for the 2020 Oslo Diamond League. There will be a small programme of events, including a world record attempt in the 300m hurdles by Norway’s Karsten Warholm, the two-time defending world champion in the 400mH.

The Impossible Games will also feature 100m, 200m, 600m and 3,000m races, as well as some field events. No spectators will be in the stadium for the event, but it will be broadcast live on television.

World Athletics reported on a Czech government announcement that says as of May 25, public gatherings of up to 50 people will be permitted. Thanks to these looser restrictions, the Czech Athletics Federation has plans to start a six-event series, with the first meet set for June 1.

The meet schedule and competition lineup has yet to be finalized, but confirmed events include women’s javelin, men’s shot put and men’s 300m. The dates of the series’ following five events haven’t been announced, but organizers say they will include a different lineup of competitions than the first.

Maximusport, a Finnish sports website, reported that track and field events will make a return on June 7 in Lahti, Finland. In order to follow government guidelines for COVID-19, only 50 people will be allowed on the field or track at one time and the number of athletes for each event will be limited.

Although runners will have no choice but to get close with their competitors on the track, field athletes will be asked to keep a safe distance between themselves at all times. Few events have been confirmed for the first competition, but 200m hurdles and 3,000m races will reportedly be part of the programme.

Norway, the Czech Republic and Finland have all seen steady drops in coronavirus numbers over the last month, and they have reported fewer than 300 COVID-19-related deaths each.

posted Monday May 11th
by Ben Snider-McGrath