Optimistic outlook for 2021 after success of post-pandemic events

by Doug Gray on 13 Nov, 2020 09:04 • Español
Optimistic outlook for 2021 after success of post-pandemic events

With the fourth World Triathlon event to be held in the second half of 2020 having taken place last weekend in Valencia, Spain, under the World Triathlon COVID Event Guidelines, the racing landscape for 2021 is looking increasingly positive.

The WTS Hamburg World Championships, Karlovy Vary, Arzachena and Valencia World Cups and the Alhandra Para Triathlon World Cup were all successfully held as World Triathlon paved a way safely back to the blue carpet. Each event was staged in close cooperation with local authorities in order to implement the guidelines within the unique demands of each host city and country, with World Health Organisation risk assessments performed for all events and medical certificates awarded by the National Federation or LOC doctor.

“World Triathlon wants to thank all of its LOCs and partners for their professionalism and the spirit of close collaboration they have shown through a turbulent year for sport all around the world,” said World Triathlon President Marisol Casado. “From the first indications of the scale of this pandemic’s impact, our priority was to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible for all our athletes and our stakeholders. We have all endured a lot of frustration and disappointment, but those events that we have been able to hold since August are a huge source of pride for World Triathlon and highlight the hard work of our partners, leaving us able to look forward to a hugely exciting 2021.”

The Hamburg World Triathlon race was held on a brand new course outside of the city and sealed off entirely from spectators to comply with Hamburg city regulations. Entry to Germany was predicated on a clear PCR test for all athletes and delegations.

The rearranged Arzachena World Cup was able to take place thanks to individual letters of invitation for all competitors and visitors, while in Valencia on-site antibody testing was introduced, with rapid PCR tests carried out where then necessary.

“From each event to the next everybody brought something new to the table. The easy option would of course have been to pull the plug on the races, but the will was so strong from the governments, National Federations, Local Organising Committees, the athletes and, of course, World Triathlon. Each event had their hidden heroes too, managing either the administration task of allowing the athletes and their support teams to travel to and from the host country or making sure that the event’s COVID concept was approved by the local authorities and World Triathlon and fully implemented,” said World Triathlon Head of Operations Thanos Nikopoulos.

The World Triathlon Technical and Medical Committee will be reviewing the guidelines for the next season by incorporating the latest information and advice from WHO. You can find the World Triathlon COVID-19 Guidelines For Event Organisers here.

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