USA Wrestling is searching for a new venue for its Olympic trials ©USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling is searching for a new host for its Olympic trials less than two months before the event is due to take place after confirming it would no longer be held on the campus of Penn State University.

The organisation said it had moved the competition from the Bryce Jordan Center "due to a variety of factors, including the current COVID-19 health and safety guidelines and the desire to provide the ability to accommodate all of the participants, staff and fans".

USA Wrestling is in discussions with an alternative venue for the event, which had been set to be staged from April 4 to 5.

"USA Wrestling is currently in negotiations to secure a new location for the competition, targeting the early April 2021 time frame," USA Wrestling said in a statement.

"USA Wrestling expects that it will be able to finalise this arrangement in the near future."

Spots on the American wrestling team for Tokyo 2020 will be up for grabs at the trials ©Getty Images
Spots on the American wrestling team for Tokyo 2020 will be up for grabs at the trials ©Getty Images

The decision not to stage the trials at Penn State University was made by USA Wrestling, Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

USA Wrestling also confirmed the Bryce Jordan Center would instead stage the Olympic trials in 2024.

This year's event, postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, will decide the Olympic spots in men’s freestyle and Greco and women’s freestyle for Tokyo 2020.

Wrestling is the US' third most successful Olympic sport by medal total.

A total of 133 of American medals at the Games have come in wrestling, including 54 golds.