Two countries have withdrawn from the IFSC European Championships ©Getty Images

Austria and France have withdrawn from this month's International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) European Championships in Moscow, an event which doubles as a qualifier for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The two countries will not be sending athletes to the Championships in the Russian capital, scheduled for November 20 to 29, because of COVID-19 concerns and restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Austria have two available quota places in sport climbing, set to make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, while France has filled its country quota of four climbers for the Games.

Slovenia, a traditionally strong sport climbing nation, could also pull out of the competition.

Slovenian coach Gorazd Hren said they were considering competing "only because we are somehow 'forced to' as it's an Olympic qualifier", according to the UK Climbing magazine.

Concerns have been raised by athletes over the event being held in Moscow as planned, and the potentially "unfair" impact a cancellation of the event would have on qualification for Tokyo 2020.

Last month, the IFSC confirmed it will use rankings from the 2019 World Championships to allocate the remaining Tokyo 2020 quota places if Continental Championships scheduled to be held before the end of the year do not take place.

Slovenian climber Jernej Kruder has admitted he hopes the European Championships will be cancelled ©Getty Images
Slovenian climber Jernej Kruder has admitted he hopes the European Championships will be cancelled ©Getty Images

Two Tokyo 2020 quotas - one for the men's event and one for the women's - are on offer at each of the four Continental Championships which have not yet been staged this year.

Pan America is the only region to have held its Continental Championships in 2020, with those in Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"A last-minute cancellation would be disappointing, but I have mixed feelings about the event - it's completely unfair for it to go ahead currently as everyone is in a different situation regarding access to facilities," British climber Molly Thompson-Smith told UK Climbing.

"An Olympic qualifier should definitely be a fair event for all."

World Cup gold medallist Jernej Kruder of Slovenia, who is in line to qualify for Tokyo 2020 if the European Championships are cancelled, admitted he was hopeful the event does not go ahead.

"My thoughts are influenced by this - I'm hoping for a cancellation of the Europeans," Kruder said.

"On the other hand, I'm asking myself, how fair will the competition be? 

"Many strong guys will be missing, some countries are already in lockdown and can't train, and what if someone tests positive just before we travel? 

"So in my opinion, I see no reason to have a competition in these awkward times."