Coronavirus race news: South Africa postponed to November, Saratoga-Bradenton PATCO events cancelled
With governments banning events expected to draw large numbers of participants, races are being cancelled or postponed.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the ITU and Ironman have been forced to cancel or postpone races in the last few hours.
Just hours after saying that the Sarasota-Bradenton PATCO Sprint Triathlon Panamerican Cup would be going ahead this weekend, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) sent notice that the event has been cancelled.
“The cancellation was made after Sarasota County issued a decision to ban all events with anticipated attendance of 250 or more individuals in order to mitigate risk and protect the county’s most vulnerable populations,” according to a release distributed early this morning.
Related: Coronavirus and Triathlon
Ironman African Championship moved to November 15
Two days ago it was reported that Ironman South Africa would still be going ahead at the end of the month. This morning it was announced that Ironman South Africa, which was slated to take place on March 29, has been postponed to November 15. Here’s the announcement that appears on the event page on Ironman.com:
In alignment with the Provincial Department of Health, and due to the force majeure COVID-19 pandemic, IRONMAN race officials in conjunction with local authorities have decided to postpone the 2020 IRONMAN® African Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay originally scheduled for 29 March to 15 November 2020. Athletes that are registered for the event will receive an email with further details. If you have questions, please contact athlete services at southafrica@ironman.com.Â
