Hard blow for World Rowing. The international rowing body was forced to cancel the 2021 world championships, scheduled for October 17 to 24 in Shanghai. The decision to remove the event from the calendar was taken by the World Rowing executive committee at the request of the Chinese organizers. It is justified by the health situation and the travel and entry constraints in China for foreign nationals. In Olympic years, the World Rowing Championships usually concern boats not included in the Games program, but the 2021 edition in Shanghai was to include all the events, Olympic or not. World Rowing had decided this to compensate for the cancellation of the 2020 world championships, initially scheduled for Bled, Slovenia. The last edition of the World Rowing Championships therefore dates back to 2019, the year when the competition took place in Ottensheim, Austria.
