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Japan on Monday took some of the strictest steps globally by
closing its borders nL1N2SM05X to new foreign entrants for about
a month in light of the emergence of the new coronavirus
variant, Omicron.
The Grand Prix final, which was scheduled for the western city
of Osaka from Dec. 9-12, has long been seen as a key step on the
road to the Winter Olympics, which run from Feb. 4-20 in Beijing
next year, bringing together the world's top skaters through a
series of competitions lasting more than a month.
The International Skating Union (ISU), which runs the Grand Prix
series, said it had been informed by the Japan Skating
Federation that the competition could not be held.
"Unfortunately, considering the complicated epidemic situation
involving travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, safety
concerns and logistical challenges, the organization of the
event was extremely challenging," the ISU said in a statement.
Americans Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou and Jason Brown, and
Russia's Mikhail Kolyada were all on the roster for the men's
event, along with Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno.
The women's singles were set to be contested by Japan's Kaori
Sakamoto and five Russian skaters.
The Grand Prix series was held in a mostly regional format in
2020 and there was no final, but the ISU held out the
possibility of other options this year.
"The ISU will evaluate a possible postponement to hold the event
at the end of the season and will take a decision as soon as
possible," it said, without giving further details.
The Cup of China, set to be the third event in the series this
year, was also cancelled due to logistical problems as a result
of the coronavirus pandemic. It was replaced by the Gran Premio
d'Italia.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken
Ferris)
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