Due to the outbreak of the fatal disease, the Chinese Athletics Association has decided not to send its 15 athletes to the IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Osaka, Japan on May 10.
The health risk posed by sending the athletes to the meeting have been deemed too great given the continuing spread of the virus from Asia to as far afield as Canada.
Furthermore, the start of the professional soccer season in China has been delayed due to the SARS problem. With a number of English soccer clubs cancelling their end-of-season tours to Asia due to the disease, it is no surprise to see China's domestic league also suffer.
The continued medical threat of the SARS virus has affected two more sports bodies in China.
