Two major triathlon events have been rescheduled ©ITU

This year's Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships and World Triathlon Series (WTS) in Hamburg have been rescheduled for September after the events were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Local organisers said they planned to hold the competitions over the weekend of September 4 to 5.

The Mixed Relay World Championships and WTS have been pencilled in for September 4 to 5, with an ironman event scheduled for September 6.

The WTS race had been due to take place on July 11, followed by the Mixed Relay World Championships on July 12, but they were postponed after the German Government banned major events until August 31 as part of its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"To best meet the needs of our athletes and the local community, the WTS Hamburg races will take place on September 5, 2020 and IRONMAN Hamburg will take place on September 6, 2020," organisers said in a statement today.

"The elite races of the World Triathlon Series and Mixed Relay World Championships will also take place on the same weekend."

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) said organisers and the German Triathlon Union will "work with the relevant authorities and partners to create a safe and enjoyable race experience for all athletes, volunteers, partners and spectators".

The events in Hamburg have been rescheduled for early September ©Getty Images
The events in Hamburg have been rescheduled for early September ©Getty Images

It appears the new dates for the events in Hamburg fit into a plan from the ITU to hold a "mini-season" later in 2020, as long as the global health situation has improved.

The competition is set to be the first major triathlon event to implement COVID-19 prevention measures, approved by the ITU earlier this month.

They include the monitoring of participants' health and the daily taking of body temperatures, as well as the wearing of masks and gloves in non-competition activities.

The ITU said "every single aspect of the competition will be reviewed" to take social distancing into consideration, further highlighting how it will be some time before any sport can return to a degree of normality.

Other Federations have postponed events until beyond September, suggesting triathlon could be among the first to resume its competitions.

The ITU has suspended all races until at least June 30 and has cancelled events including the World Triathlon Series Grand Final in Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.