Guyana’s premier international track and

field competition, the Aliann Pompey Invitational (API), has been suspended

pending the announcement of the new date for the Olympics.

The fifth edition of the meet, a gateway to

the Olympics for athletes, had been scheduled for June 6 at the National Track

and Field Centre in Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

But earlier this week, the International

Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it would postpone the Summer Games

originally scheduled to begin in Tokyo, Japan on July 24, to a date “beyond

2020 but not later than summer 2021” because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic.

This year’s meet had been scheduled for

June 6 at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

“Given the fact that this year’s API forms

part of the World Athletics Continental Tour for the calendar year and is a

major part of the preparation for athletes looking to qualify for Tokyo 2020,

we want to ensure that the event offers athletes from around the world the best

possible way, without hindrance, a chance to make their Olympic dream true,” a

statement on Thursday from the API said.

“The IOC announced the postponement of the

Games to take place no later than a year from the scheduled date, and, as such,

API wants to leave the door open to the possibility of having the meet, should

the Games be held sometime sooner than next summer.”

However, it added that it would follow the

lead of World Athletics, CONSUDATLE, National Sports Commissions (NSC) and the

Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), and “adhere to the requirements and

recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as regional and

local health officials; joining the rest of the sporting world battling the

dreadful COVID-19 pandemic”.

Guyana’s most prolific female athlete

Aliann Pompey, after whom the track and field meet is named, told local media house

News Room that she agreed with the postponement of the Olympic Games.

“I genuinely believe the decision to

postpone the Olympics to a later date was the best one. I think it’s the one

that has the least amount of repercussions. Having it at the scheduled date

puts so many of the athletes and their families and the world at large at

risk,” said the former national 400m athlete and four-time Olympian.

Several other major regional and

international sporting events have been postponed or cancelled as a result of

the COVID-19 pandemic, including the CARIFTA Games.