Fallout from the Wuhan corona virus continues to impact the world of sports, as China this week postponed all international sporting competitions and moved Olympic qualifying tournaments to other locations.
The international ski federation on Wednesday decided to cancel the first World Cup races, which were scheduled to take place at Beijing’s mountain site for the 2022 Olympics. The men’s downhill had been scheduled for Feb. 15.
“Due to the outbreak and continuing spread of the Novel Coronavirus, FIS, the Chinese Ski Association and its Yanqing Local Organizing Committee, have jointly decided to cancel,” FIS said in a statement, which was reported by MarketWatch.com.
Chinese field hockey has postponed Pro League games in China, and all 2020 Olympic qualifying events for the soccer, basketball and boxing have been moved outside of China.
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Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike acknowledged her concern about the virus when speaking Wednesday to the heads of 62 municipalities.
“With only 177 days to go and our preparations accelerating, we must firmly tackle the new coronavirus to contain it, or we are going to regret it,” Koike said. “I will do the utmost to contain this new problem as we cooperate closely with all of you.”
Tokyo Olympic organizers put out a generic statement on Wednesday and offered no details.
“Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of our plans to host a safe and secure games,” the statement said, adding they would “carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and we will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organizations.”
As of Thursday morning, the World Health Organization is reporting that 170 people have died of the virus in China and at least 15 countries have confirmed infections.
