First parkour world championships postponed again in Japan
- Jan. 28, 2021 11:55 AM EST
FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2018, file photo, participants of the Parkour Generations work on their practice runs outside of Wembley Stadium ahead of the 13th Rendezvous International Parkour Gathering in London. Global organizers of parkour are urging the IOC not to add the street-running sport to the 2024 Paris Olympics at a meeting next week. The Parkour Earth group has for years opposed what it calls a “hostile takeover” of the sport by the Olympic-recognized International Gymnastics Federation. Parkour Earth said Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020 in an open letter to the International Olympic Committee that the world gymnastic body's "encroachment and misappropriation of our sport continues.” (AP Photo/Nishat Ahmed, File)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The first parkour world championships organized by the governing body of gymnastics was postponed a second time because of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) cited “current travel restrictions and difficulties” for the championships not taking place from March 26-28 in Hiroshima, Japan.

No new date was suggested for an event originally scheduled in April last year.

FIG has faced resistance from national parkour bodies worldwide while trying to establish control over the street-running sport.

The gymnastics body hoped to organize a recognized world championships as a step toward gaining Olympic recognition. FIG's request to add parkour to the 2024 Paris Games was declined by the International Olympic Committee last month.

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