The Madeira 2020 World Para Swimming European Open Championships have set a makeup date: in May of 2021, almost exactly a year after they were originally scheduled.
The Madeira event was scheduled to take place on the Portuguese island from May 17-23 of 2020. The event was one of many this spring wiped out by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the meet was postponed, but with no new date set. But the World Para Swimming organization has officially announced a new set of dates: May 16-22, 2021.
“We are extremely happy to be able to share this news with our sport community and our fans,” said Georgios Antoniou, the manager of the World Para Swimming organization. “We understand that these have been difficult months due to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, but we have been in continuous contact with the LOC and the Madeira authorities to be able to find new dates for the competition.”
The meet was originally supposed to be the last major event before the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. The new dates should keep the European Open as the final major event before the now-rescheduled Paralympics, which will take place from August 24 through September 5 of 2021.
The European Open will allow for athletes from any continent to compete. The World Para Swimming press release says that around 500 swimmers from more than 50 countries are expected to attend.
