It has been confirmed that the 2020 short-course World Swimming Championships have been postponed for one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The event was due to be held at the end of the year in Abu Dhabi but will instead be held there from 13-18 December 2021.
The news was announced in a short statement from world swimming's governing body, FINA.
"Given the uncertainty related with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the safeguard of the athletes’ health and safety, and in accordance with the request of the UAE authorities, FINA has decided to re-schedule the upcoming edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), initially programmed to take place in December 2020 in Abu Dhabi
"The new dates of this competition are December 13-18, 2021, with the FINA World Aquatics Convention taking place also in Abu Dhabi, from December 10-12, 2021."
The decision to postpone, as happened with the Olympic Games in Tokyo, means that there will be no major world swimming event in the 2020 season.
Irish swimmers had yet to go through the qualification process for the event in Abu Dhabi but the likes of Darragh Greene (main pic), Mona McSharry and Shane Ryan would have been hopeful of competing there.
The FINA president, Dr Julio C. Maglione, commented: "We have worked in close co-operation during the last weeks with the UAE authorities on this matter and we believe this is the most suitable solution for all those taking part in this competition.
"The Abu Dhabi rendezvous in December 2021 will be a great achievement and will once more be a strong inspiration for the development of Swimming and Aquatics in the region."
Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach accepts that 2021 is the last chance to stage the Tokyo Games.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has previously said that the rescheduled Games cannot take place in 2021 unless the coronavirus is contained.
Bach has said they'll be prepared for various scenarios, including athletes going into quarantine.
