BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Prize bonuses of 20,000 U.S. dollars and the first wildcard entries into the IAAF World Indoor Championships Nanjing 2020 will be on offer for the winners of the 2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour, which begins in late January.
According to the IAAF's release on Thursday, the third edition of the indoor tour will kick off in Boston, United States, on Jan. 26, with stops in Karlsruhe, Germany on Feb. 2, Torun, Poland on Feb. 6, Madrid, Spain on Feb. 8, Birmingham, Britain on Feb. 16, before the finale in Dusseldorf, Germany on Feb. 20.
The tour will feature 11 point-scoring disciplines, five for men - 400m, 1500m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump - and six for women - 60m, 800m, 3000m/5000m, pole vault, triple jump and shot put.
Each athlete's best three results will count towards their point score and the athlete with the most points in each discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner at the finale in Dusseldorf. The tour winners will also be eligible for wildcard entry to the IAAF World Indoor Championships Nanjing 2020.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe said: "The tour is becoming a popular event on the athletics calendar and we are anticipating another action-packed month of indoor athletics early next year. The beauty of indoor athletics is the intimacy of the arena. The fans can almost reach out and touch the athletes, and the impressive early ticket sales suggest our supporters are keen to experience that.
"The 2019 World Indoor Tour also offers fans the first chance to see which athletes have made improvements in the off-season and is likely to feature in our main event of the year, the World Athletics Championships in Doha. It's a great chance for athletes to set themselves up for the outdoor season and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the early form guide for the rest of the year," said Coe.
