The scheduled start of the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya has been pushed back by a day, it was announced Saturday by organisers.

 It means that the championships will begin Wednesday, August 18 instead of the original Tuesday, August 17 date.

A release from the organisers said the event will be condensed into five days and will finish on Sunday August 22.               

According to World Athletics, “The impact of COVID on teams travelling and logistics of moving vital equipment around the world have proven to be a challenge.”

However, the organisation said it will be able to fit the entire schedule into the new time slot “with minimal impact on the athletes attending from more than 100 countries.”

The delay could be a blessing for the Jamaican team that left the island in three groups earlier this week and are expected to be fully assembled in the Kenyan capital by Sunday.

World Athletics promised “A fuller and faster paced event and we are delighted that the broadcast rights for these championships have been taken up by more than 14 countries, with 12 of them showing the event live.”

-Paul A Reid