The 2022 World Athletics Half Championships in Yangzhou have been postponed until November because of COVID-19 restrictions ©Getty Images

Next year’s World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Yangzhou have been put back eight months, it was announced today.

The event was originally due to take place on March 27 but has now been re-scheduled for November 13.

It is just the latest major event in China that has either been postponed or cancelled, with only the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing appearing to be safe.

Among the recent events cancelled were big-city marathons in Beijing and Wuhan.

This postponement is due to the biosecurity measures and travel restrictions currently in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in China.

China has pursued one of the world's strictest approaches to the pandemic with its so-called "zero-COVID" policy, imposing tough lockdowns on cities where infections have been discovered and largely closing its borders to international travel.

The last World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia in Poland in October 2020 had to deal with several problems besides just the coronavirus ©Getty Images
The last World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia in Poland in October 2020 had to deal with several problems besides just the coronavirus ©Getty Images

World Athletics claimed it wanted to provide certainty to athletes, coaches and Member Federations, so agreed to a request from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to reschedule the Championships to allow more time for existing travel and quarantine restrictions to be eased.

"World Athletics and the LOC in Yangzhou are committed to the responsible planning and delivery of the Half Marathon Championships, which includes ensuring that athletes from all International Federations are able to participate and enjoy an experience that is befitting a World Athletics Series event," World Athletics said in a statement.

World Athletics promised more details on the event in Yangzhou, which is located in Central Jiangsu Province and sits on the north bank of the Yangtze, would be provided when they became available.

Last year’s World Half Marathon Championships were held Gdynia in Poland in October.

Besides having to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the event also had to overcome severe weather problems and a fire that nearly knocked out the timing system, leading to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe to later admit that it came within 24 hours of being cancelled.

The highlight was Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir women-only world record of 65min 16sec, while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo claimed gold in the men’s race.