U.S. announces first professional track meet of the summer

The Nashville Track Club has announced the date of their 18th annual Music City Distance Carnival. On August 15, the club will run an event closed to spectators in an undisclosed location in Nashville, Tenn., which will be streamed live for fans to tune in and watch. In a memo titled “Pro Track is Back,” the club announced their plans to host the event which draws an extremely elite crowd (the 2019 women’s 1,500m race included 2017 steeplechase world champion Emma Coburn). The track meet will run after Nashville’s professional soccer team, Nashville SC, opens their season.

RELATED: Records fall for Warholm, Ingebrigtsens at Oslo’s Impossible Games

There will be a US pro track season in some form this year: the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville announces they'll hold a spectator-less meet on August 15. pic.twitter.com/rAT18aqpTT

— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) June 15, 2020

There will be restrictions

Because of COVID-19, the fields will be smaller than usual. On top of smaller fields, all participants and officials will need to present a negative COVID-19 test from the week before their race.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5JKDjuH_8P/

Canadians might not be able to attend

As the border remains closed, it’ll be difficult for Canadians to enter. While the event remains two months away and a lot can change in that time, nothing is guaranteed. As of now, there are no Canadian professional meets on the calendar for the summer or fall of 2020.

RELATED: Impossible Games to feature Team Ingebrigtsen vs. Team Cheruiyot

It won’t count toward Olympic qualification

The new Olympic qualification window opens on December 1, 2020. Until then, races can count for national and world records, but no mark will be counted toward qualifying for the upcoming 2021 Olympics. However, most runners are probably just excited at the prospect of being able to race, even if they can’t qualify for the Olympics yet.

Following the MCDC, the Eugene Diamond League has tentatively been set for October 4. So far, these are the only two American professional meets on the calendar.

RELATED: 60 per cent of athletes against new Olympic qualification period