Due to the increased level of COVID-19 infections in Romania and the travel restrictions affecting numerous European countries, this year’s Cross Duathlon and Cross Triathlon European Championships, which were to take place in Szeklerland in September, have been canceled, according to the European Triathlon Union (ETU).
“It was really hard to cancel after all these months full of hope, but we think that it’s better this way; we guess that we all agree on the fact that safety comes first!”
– said organizer Viktor Klosz.
The event already had to be postponed once from its original date in June because of the pandemic, and just one month ago, the organizers were optimistic that the race could take place between the 13th and 15th of September in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș).
But due to the increasing number of fresh coronavirus cases countrywide and the further restrictions that have been imposed by the Romanian government, several European countries have placed Romania into their red-zone category, meaning that people visiting the country must go into quarantine after returning home.
As a result, organizers have seen a very low number of athletes registering for the event and so decided, together with the Romanian Triathlon Federation and the ETU, to cancel the competition.
According to the ETU, they want to organize the Cross Duathlon and Cross Triathlon European Championships sometime in the future when conditions will be suitable.
The latest data show that Romania so far had 68,046 coronavirus cases and 2,904 casualties, with the number of new daily cases on the rise since early June. It hit a new record of 1,454 cases on Thursday, August 13.
Title image: Transylvania ETU Cross Duathlon European Championships 2017 in Marosvásárhely (Photo: Transylvania 2020 Cross Triathlon & Cross Duathlon European Championships Facebook)
