“The (World Athletics) council’s decision to award another event to Yangzhou in 2027 indicates its faith in the organizing committee and willingness to return and stage a World Athletics Series road running event there at the first available opportunity,” Coe said.
This year’s event was due to be the last before the championships are renamed the world road running championships with the addition of 5-kilometer races and mass-participation events alongside the elite competitions. The first of those is in Riga, Latvia, next year.
China has put tight restrictions on arrivals from foreign countries during the pandemic and imposes wide-ranging lockdowns for any COVID-19 positives within the country.
China hosted the Winter Olympics in February in a bubble which involved cordoning off whole sections of Beijing, but has routinely called off less prominent international sports events.