The 10-day athletics programme will run from July 30 to August 8 in 2021

Athletics action at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will take place over 10 days, from July 30 to August 8, 2021, organisers have confirmed.

The schedule sees athletics competition commence on Friday July 30 with the opening round of the men’s 3000m steeplechase and conclude on Sunday August 8, which is the final day of the Games, with the men’s marathon in Sapporo.

The action will be spread over 16 sessions at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium and for the first time in Olympic history the women’s and men’s marathon victory ceremonies will both be held during the closing ceremony.

Athletics features prominently in both of the Games’ ‘Super Saturdays’, with three finals – the men’s discus throw, women’s 100m and the inaugural mixed 4x400m relay – scheduled for August 31.

Another seven athletics titles will be decided on Saturday August 7, among 34 event finals scheduled for that day, the highest single day number during the Games.

‘Golden Sunday’ on July 31 will include 25 medal events, capped by the men’s 100m final.

Click here to download a PDF of the timetable.

The Olympics will begin on July 23, while the Paralympics are now due to be held from August 24 to September 5 in 2021.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification system already in force was adapted to fit the new dates of the Games and in April World Athletics announced that the qualification period would be suspended until the start of December, ruling out any results which might be recorded from April 6 to November 30.

READ MORE: World Athletics suspends Olympic qualification period

Last month, World Athletics launched an online tool to help track the qualification process.

Searchable by discipline, country and qualification status, the tool will provide a real time view of each event over the course of the Tokyo 2020 qualification period which ends on June 29, 2021.