JOHANNESBURG – Plenty of action is on the cards for the 2020 athletics season, with the latest Athletics SA fixtures list reflecting a full calendar of events across a variety of disciplines both at home and abroad.
On the domestic circuit, multiple opportunities will be provided for athletes to qualify for major international championships. The 2020 season opens on Saturday, with the ASA Cross Country trials, to be held in Potchefstroom.
The ASA National Primary Schools Track and Field Championships will take place in Pietermaritzburg on March 20 and 21, with the Twizza ASA Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 T&F Championships hosted by Boland Athletics at Dal Josaphat Stadium in Paarl from March 26 to 28.
The 3Sixty Life & Sizwe Medical Fund ASA Senior T&F and Combined Events Championships will be hosted by Athletics Gauteng North at Pilditch Stadium in Tshwane from April 23 to 25.
In addition, the local track and field season will include three ASA Athletix Grand Prix meetings, to be held in Cape Town on April 9, in Tshwane on April 14 and Potchefstroom on April 18.
Photo: Hassan Ammar/AP Photo
On the road, the ASA 10km Championships will be held in Durban on July 12 (incorporated into the FNB CitySurfRun), the ASA Half-Marathon Championships will be held in Port Elizabeth on July 25 (incorporated in the Nelson Mandela Bay Half-Marathon), and the ASA Marathon Championships will be held in Cape Town on October 18 (incorporated into the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon).
The domestic campaign will also feature the ASA National Cross Country Championships, taking place at Amanzimtoti, south of Durban, on September 5.
Photo: AP Photo/Tim Ireland
Elsewhere, on the international circuit, the 2020 season will focus around the Olympic Games, set for Tokyo, where the athletics competition will be held between July 31 and August 9.
The international season also includes the CAA Africa Cross Country Championships scheduled for Lomé on a new date to be determined, the World Athletics Indoor Championships to be held in Nanjing between March 13 and 15, the World Athletics Half-Marathon Championships in Gdynia on March 29 and the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Minsk on May 2 and 3.
There will also be CAA African Senior Championships in Algiers between from June 24 to 28, the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Nairobi from July 7 to 12 and the IAU 100km World Championships scheduled for Winschoten on September 12.
by African News Agency (ANA)
