March 13, 2020 - 5:01 PM
Triathlon Canada is suspending its season for six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organization plans to go ahead with world championship events scheduled later this summer in two Canadian cities.
Triathlon Canada announced Friday night in a statement that it would suspend its season until April 30.
"As the situation is changing rapidly in Canada and around the globe, we felt it was most prudent to ensure we as a sport are doing our part to protect our communities and fellow vulnerable citizens during this unprecedented time," Triathlon Canada said.
"Our goal is to ensure that we have a successful racing season — including staging world championship events in Montreal and Edmonton later this summer. Our hope is that by taking extra precautionary measures now, we will all be able to be back on a start line as soon as possible."
The International Triathlon Union's grand final is scheduled Aug. 21-23 in Edmonton.
Montreal is scheduled to host the ITU Paratriathlon world championships on June 24.
The Paratriathlon world championships were originally scheduled for May 2 in Milan, but the ITU announced earlier this week it was postponing the event and moving it to Montreal because of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2020.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2020