A world wrestling championships is planned for December in Belgrade, should health and safety measures be met regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
The worlds from Dec. 12-20 must include eight of the 10 best ranked teams and a minimum of 70 percent participating countries based on 2019 attendance. Specific health regulations have not been announced, but must be confirmed two months before the event.
“Competitions must provide general sanitary conditions, the ability to travel to/from the nation, and robust countermeasures to COVID-19 impacts on competition must be enforced,” according to United World Wrestling.
Wrestling worlds have been held every year dating to 2005 and go back decades in non-Olympic years. Before the pandemic, there were no wrestling worlds scheduled for 2020, which would have ended the streak of holding worlds in the autumn of Olympic years for non-Olympic weight classes.
With the Tokyo Games postponed to 2021, international wrestling officials are looking to extend an annual streak of competition at the highest level. A 2020 Worlds would include 10 weight classes each for men’s and women’s freestyles and Greco-Roman, just as in 2019, according to USA Wrestling.
Last September, five U.S. wrestlers won world titles in Kazakhstan: J’den Cox, Kyle Dake, Adeline Gray, Tamyra Mensah-Stock and Jacarra Winchester.
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