The pre-homologation process must be completed for the IBSF and the FIL to officially approve the National Sliding Center as safe for racing ©IBSF

The pre-homologation of the sliding sports venue for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing has been rearranged for later this year, having recently been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Bobsled, skeleton and luge athletes from around the world were supposed to visit the National Sliding Center in Yanqing from March 9 to 15 to certify it in preparation for Beijing 2022.

This process must be completed for the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and the International Luge Federation (FIL) to officially approve the track as safe for racing.

It was announced in January, however, that the event had been delayed based on the outbreak and continuing spread of coronavirus, which posed "unexpected challenges ahead of the Organising Committee".

The new dates were agreed between the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee (BOCOG), the IBSF and the FIL.

In a statement, the IBSF thanked the FIL for its close cooperation as well as BOCOG and the International Olympic Committee for their support and expertise.

The pre-homologation test runs serve to trial the field of play.

The homologation process validates the safety and drivability of the track and also checks infrastructure and logistical aspects of the venue.

The National Sliding Center was constructed in Yanqing and is ready to be certified ©Getty Images
The National Sliding Center was constructed in Yanqing and is ready to be certified ©Getty Images

The bobsleigh teams and skeleton athletes to conduct the first test runs, determined by the IBSF Executive Committee to give sophisticated and different feedback due to their experience, remain the same.

The bobsleigh pilots are Germany’s Francesco Friedrich, Latvia’s Oskars Ķibermanis, the Czech Republic’s Dominik Dvořák, Romania’s Andreea Grecu and Switzerland’s Martina Fontanive.

Latvia’s Martins Dukurs is among the four skeleton athletes along with Great Britain’s Marcus Wyatt, Russia’s Elena Nikitina and Austria’s Janine Flock.

Earlier this week, Xinhua reported that the production of ice at the National Sliding Center had finished after 10 days' work.

The work included ice repair, ice replenishment, cleaning and sprinkler maintenance.

Due to the different requirements of various competitions, the ice thickness and ice-making methods of varying wall sections are also different.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 125,000 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in 118 countries around the world.

The total number of deaths is more than 5,000.