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World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championships in Bermuda “will not take place in 2021”

Spike in COVID infections force cancellation of this year's race

As we reported last week, it wasn’t looking promising for the upcoming World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championships in Bermuda next month and, over the weekend, World Triathlon confirmed that the event won’t be taking place this year.

“Bermuda was ready to welcome hundreds of participants from all over the world from October 15 to 17. However, changing conditions on the ground demanded that the programme’s safety plan be reviewed,” World Triathlon said in a release. “Using a tool provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Organising Committee and the World Triathlon conducted a risk assessment on the event. The analysis considered the island’s recent spike in Covid-19 infections in addition to the Bermuda Hospital’s elevated Covid-19 patient intake, and the Organising Committee in consultation with World Triathlon made the decision not to proceed with the October event. The health and safety of all athletes, coaches, staff, contractors, volunteers, and the people of the island was the primary consideration.”

Canadian national team members who were set to compete in Bermuda have been given the option to defer their entries to next year’s World Sprint and Relay Championships scheduled to take place in Montreal next August.

Bermuda was looking forward to celebrating its first Olympic gold medalist, Flora Duffy, at the event. The country has declared October 18 “Flora Duffy Day,” a national holiday to celebrate her win in Tokyo.